Work Text:
September, a new school year begins. Lea and her friends are in their last year of high school and, like every start of the year, they’re all motivated. For now. This year is the last, I’m gonna make it the best one, with a perfect score on all my exams and tests, be nice to everyone, etc. Every student says that, but, like their new year’s resolutions, they won’t keep it.
The first hour on the first day, they’re all seated in a classroom looking at their schedule while the teacher goes on about god knows what. Because the most important thing is between their hands right now: their schedule. Suddenly, she’s hit by her friend Amalie, whisper-shouting her name.
«Lea! Looks who’s our literature teacher !»
« Oh my god yes! I can’t wait to have classes again with him !»
« And we all know why, hmm girl?» Adds Jérôme, one of her friends too.
« Shut it Jéjé, as if you’re not drooling all over the guy too, you useless gay.» And that’s Anthony for you.
They’re still bickering when Emma, a nice girl who joined their little group recently, takes a grave voice «Oh no…»
« What is it, Emma?»
« Look at our bio teacher…»
And if it isn’t the most terrifying sentence they’ve ever heard. Because, in this beautiful Parisian school, there is only one teacher that can make your skin crawl just by seeing their name on your timetable.
« We’re fucked.»
*
Today is supposed to be a good day. No bio class, only literature, math, and English. All the teachers in this course are nice, so it’s good. And it’s sunny, which is very rare for Paris in September - thanks to climate change - so really, what could go wrong?
When Lea gets inside her literature classroom, she is so not ready to see her most hated teacher here, talking to her favourite teacher of all time. Mr. Demaury, known as Sunshine, is sitting on his desk, smiling brightly - real-life sunshine, they’re not joking - while looking at Mr. Lallemant, or the worst teacher ever.
Well, he’s not the worst teacher, quite the contrary actually. His classes are never boring, he teaches them well and gives good explanations, taking the time to explain when they don’t understand. But it always comes with a snarky remark. And he’s always grumpy, smiles rarely and he is not very patient. Yes, he explains when you don’t understand, but not before sighing for two minutes straight. Ok maybe not two minutes, but he never tries to hide how judging he is of his class.
They both turn their heads towards Lea when she enters and Mr. Demaury’s smile dim a little. Mr. Lallemant clears his throat, throwing a «See you later.» to the other teacher before going out. Mr. Demaury looks after him, always smiling, before turning his head toward Lea when she sits down. He sits back at his desk, opening a little notebook while every other student comes in, one by one. Emma sits next to her and soon enough, the whole room is full but it’s not like in Mr. Lallemant’s class, oh no. Here, everybody is waiting for Mr. Demaury to say something because, well. He has a nice voice. And he is nice. And pretty. And smiley. And pretty.
« Good morning everyone !»
A chorus of good mornings answers him and if it’s possible, Mr. Demaury’s smile gets bigger. Not quite as big as the one he had when Mr. Lallemant was here though. Which makes Lea wonders a little: what could her bio teacher have said to make the other one smile so bright? She doesn’t have time to dwell on it because soon enough, Mr. Demaury’s voice rings clear as a bell in the classroom.
« First of all, I hope you all had a good summer vacation. And-»
« We hope your vacation was nice too, sir!»
«Oh, thank you. It was nice, I had a lot of fun.»
« What did you do for your vacation, Mr. Demaury?»
« Yes, what did you do ?»
A nice blush colours their teacher’s cheeks at this moment and he rubs his fingertips on his lips. It's a nervous habit he has that makes everybody fall more in love with him.
« Hm, well. I went to my partner’s family in the south of France, so we had a nice beach vacation. And then we went to visit some friends in Oslo.»
If you listen close enough, half of the students in this room had their hearts broken by a single word in this sentence.
« Wait, you’re in a relationship ?!»
Lea is too shocked to say something, while Emma is shaking her like she’s trying to get gold coins out of her. Soon, they’re whispering.
« Did you know he had someone?»
«I’m making the same fish out of its tank face as you! Of course, I didn’t know!»
«Of course he’s not single, have you seen his face?»
« Shut up Anthony, a girl can dream!»
« Ugh, gross. He’s ten whole years older than you.»
«Perfect opportunity to call him daddy.»
«Jérôme!!» Anthony says before hitting him upside the head.
Their bickering stops when they hear Mr. Demaury clearing his throat. He’s still as red as he was a minute ago when Jérôme asked if he was in a relationship.
« It’s none of your business but yes, I am in a relationship. Have been since I was your age, actually.»
At that, the whole class gasps and some aww-ed out loud.
« But that’s not what this class is about!» Mr. Demaury says, trying to regain composure. But everybody in the room can see that a smile is making his lips twitch and the blush on his face. «Anyway, back to what I first wanted to say!»
And even though they try to get back to the subject of their favourite teacher’s relationship, Mr. Demaury doesn’t let them do it. After twenty minutes, they stop trying. Mostly because he threatened to give them a paper to do for next week if they didn’t stop.
*
The first week of their new high school year has gone by smoothly, until now. It’s 7.40 a.m and their first class is with Mr. Lallemant. To say that everyone is scared of what will happen is an understatement.
When they arrived, Mr. Lallemant was already here, going over a huge pile of papers while drinking his morning coffee. Nobody greeted him when they entered, but neither did he, keeping his eyes focused on his lesson.
But once the clock hit exactly 8a.m, Mr. Lallemant stands up and everyone sucks in a breath.
« Good morning everyone.» Nobody answers. « I know you don’t like bio, even though you enrolled in the scientific course for your last year, too bad for you. But please, do take part in class, get your homework done and study for the tests, because many are coming your way. If you do that, everything will go smoothly and you’ll hopefully go to college or do whatever it is you wanna do. I don’t care as long as you’re out of this class. Science is something you have to know by heart, so that's not as complicated as literature, where you have to invent some bullshit to have a passing grade. Is it clear?» Nobody answers, a couple of them mumbling a little «yes» but not looking up from their desks. Mr. Lallemant sighs and seems tired of his students' silence. « Great. Let’s get to it then.»
*
« Oh my god, how is it that you can forget something so easy in only two months? Come on man, it’s not that hard. Think.»
« Ok, since you can’t answer, does anybody here can help her? Anybody that isn’t me, I’m the teacher here I shouldn’t have to answer.»
« When you can’t fucking throw something from your chair into the bin, you pick your ass up and go to the bin to throw it in, Anthony. It’s not a hard concept for god’s sake.»
« You know what? You all seem so eager to leave so please do, I’m tired of seeing your faces for today.»
To say their first class of three hours with Mr. Lallemant was hell is, as usual, an understatement.
*
After learning that their favourite teacher is in a happy relationship, and has been for a long time, they all decided to make a deal. Every time they’ll have a class with Mr. Demaury. They’ll ask him a question about his relationship before the class starts. And so, when the second class of the trimester arrived, they all are a nervous mess.
Mr. Demaury arrives in class and everybody is already seated. He greets them with a beautiful smile and a cheerful «Hello you all!» before losing his jacket - making a few girls giggle behind Lea, which in turn makes Emma roll her eyes at them.
Nobody dares to be the first one to ask the question. So, once Mr. Demaury is about to speak again and start their lesson, Lea doesn’t think twice before raising her hand. Mr. Demaury stops in his tracks and looks at her, raising an eyebrow in question.
« Yes, Lea ?»
« Sir, I was wondering,» she takes in a big breath while Jérôme whispers encouraging words to her, « where did you meet your lover ?»
It says on Mr. Demaury's face that he wasn’t ready for this kind of question. An adorable blush is making its way on his face, up to his ears. He clears his throat, before grabbing his book and turning towards the board.
« That’s not class-related Lea, I’m sorry I can’t answer.»
They all groans but before they can say anything, Mr. Demaury raises his voice and starts the lesson of the day.
They’ll get more info one day.
*
The next time they try it, it was with an innocent question. A simple « Where was your first date ?». It earned them a « That’s not in the theme of our lesson here, Anthony.».
« But sir we’re talking about Romeo & Juliet here, we’re talking about love!»
« Anyway, back to Romeo & Juliet and the meaning behind their first time as lovers.»
And after that, every time they tried asking something, Mr. Demaury would straight up ignore them or answer with something else: « So this summer you met their parents? » « The beach was nice, if you have to visit the south of France, I recommend Nice. »
« Are they romantic with you? Do they treat you right? » « Yes, my lunch was good, thank you for asking. »
« Is it a he or a she ? » which earned Jérôme another slap to the back of his head from Anthony. And earned them a « My sexuality is none of your business. », said with the most beautiful smile, which threw them out of a loop.
Then the questions got a bit more personal, they were trying hard to guess the identity of this person. But again, Mr. Demaury never answered any of them. « Do we know them, is that why you don’t want to tell us?»; « Are they taller or smaller than you? »; « What’s the first letter of their name, please!»; « Or at least their last name? »
They would have stopped if Mr. Demaury seemed bothered by it. But every time they asked something, a smile etched itself on his face. Probably because he was thinking about his lover. But damn, he would never give them even a hint and they were frustrated. And thus was born the plan: stalk Mr. Demaury between classes.
*
« I don’t get why we have to follow him during his lunch break! He’s just going to eat!»
« Shut up Jérôme!»
« But it’s not gonna give us any clue on who his lover is!»
«You don’t know that! Maybe he’ll talk about his lover with someone!»
« Shhh !! He’s right here !»
They all quiet down at that. Hiding behind a wall next to the teacher’s lounge, they have a full view inside it. And here he is, Mr. Demaury, sitting in front of Mr. Lallemant. It startles them at first. Because how can a ray of sunshine like Mr. Demaury talk to a person like Mr. Lallemant? They’re the total opposite of each other!
Mr. Demaury is talking animatedly while Mr. Lallemant stuffs pasta in his mouth when his eyes make direct contact with Lea’s one.
« Shit!! We made eye contact!»
All of a sudden, Mr. Demaury isn’t speaking anymore. He puts his forks down and turns his face toward where the little group is. His face hardens and he gives them the most murderous stare they’ve ever seen on someone. A second later, they’re all running the opposite way.
« I told you it was no use! We didn’t learn anything!
« And now he hates us !»
« Shut up! I didn’t know that's how boring his lunch break was! »
Let’s say that their afternoon class with Mr. Demaury was the worst one they had. Every time he looked at them, his stare would be cold. Fortunately, it lasted only for a day. Next week, he was back in his sunshine mode.
*
It’s now the beginning of December and in two weeks, their winter holidays start. Since the start of the year, they kept asking Mr. Demaury questions about his lover, but to no avail. Still, they try. With no luck.
They were hyped, their heads full of new ideas to get Mr. Demaury to confess at least the first letter of his lover’s name. But that was before their class with Mr. Lallemant. He was in a particularly foul mood today, has been for the whole year really, but today was worse than anything they’ve ever experienced. Usually, he makes snarky remarks, says something rude and in general, he’s just mean to them. But nothing they can’t handle. But today, when they entered the room, Mr. Lallemant was staring out of the window, as if…empty.
Once everyone was at their desks, he stood up and spoke with the deadliest voice they’ve ever heard.
« So, I graded your test and I don’t get how you can fail so much on something we’ve spent two months on.»
They all winced, but Mr. Lallemant was not finished.
« No, really. I’m impressed by your stupidity. You chose the S course, but you make no effort to work for it. I know bio isn’t the most interesting for you, maybe you’re more into math or geometry or whatever, but do you think you’re gonna get your Bac with grades like the one I have here? Guess what, you won’t. The higher-grade? Twelve. Freaking twelve. I’ve never had third years like you before. You’re all gonna fail, but I did my job. I really don’t get how you can fail like that.»
After that whole speech, let’s say that their spirits were crushed. Lea was the highest score of the class, but she didn’t feel proud. She was mostly angry about what Mr. Lallemant said as if they were stupid. Like a typical student feel when a teacher tells them to work more, really.
So, when Mr. Lallemant dismissed the class and they headed towards Mr. Demaury’s one, nobody was in a happy mood. But at least, they were about to see his sunshine smile and maybe, that would make their day a little bit brighter.
When they entered the room, Mr. Demaury was already writing something on the board. He turned to greet them but quickly stopped when he saw their faces. He waited until everyone was at their desk, sitting on top of his, before speaking.
« What’s happening, guys? Looks like everybody’s pet just died.»
« No, we just got out of one of Mr. Lallemant’s class.»
« … And ?»
« We don’t like him. He’s always so mean to us. It was worse today.» A chorus of «yes», «that’s true» echoes in the room and Mr. Demaury looks pained. Perhaps even shocked.
« Why was it worse ?»
« He basically told us we were stupid because of our new grades.»
«Yes! He said we were gonna fail and that he’s never seen third years as stupid as us.»
Mr. Demaury crosses his arms and sighs, rubbing his face quickly.
« Ok guys. I’m going to talk to you about something personal, so listen up.»
They were all complaining about Mr. Lallemant, some of them calling him names, but they stopped after what their teacher said, now giving him their full attention.
« First of all, we’re humans, like you. Us too, we get our bad day. And sometimes we don’t want to get out of bed to teach a bunch of children who couldn’t care less about what we say.»
« But your class is always good sir! We always listen to you!»
« Yes, but not to Mr. Lallemant.» they’re now all silent, some of them even looking down at their feet. « You know, Mr. Lallemant and I have been friends for a very long time. He tells me stuff. About how you act in his class. About how you stay quiet and never participate. You never answer his questions and not even to his good mornings. Imagine, working somewhere for many years and none of your students greeting you? Would you like that if I came in and never answered your hellos ?»
Nobody dares to look at Mr. Demaury now. Mostly because of what he’s saying and that they’re ashamed of themselves. But also because it sounds like Mr. Demaury is disgusted by their attitude.
« Why are you all ignoring him when he’s the one to get you to pass your bac?»
« Well, he’s mean with us. And scary. It feels like he’s always judging us. Like he doesn’t like us.»
Mr. Demaury lets out a little laugh, before sighting. « I know Mr. Lallemant can be a little shit, and he has no tact, I know. But do you know why he’s like that ?»
They all shake their heads «no».
« Because being a teacher as always been his dream job. When I met him, he was always telling me about how he was gonna be the best bio teacher in Paris. And how every student will pile up in front of his class to listen to him. How big professors were going to ask him to do lectures in their college. How he was gonna publish a book about his biologic discoveries. », he smiles a little while retelling this story, before sighing again. That’s the first time they’ve heard Mr. Demaury sighs so much.
« He put a lot of pressure on himself to be the best because everyone was encouraging him to be it, I included. And then, his first day came around and he was so stressed and anxious, he started talking to his student like he talks with his friends. He’s rude, he doesn’t have a filter but it’s only because of his anxiety and this desire to be loved. And here you are, telling me you hate him.»
It would have hurt less if Mr. Demaury went and slapped them one by one.
« Try to be nice to him. Answers, when he says hello, tries to participate. He’s not mean on purpose, he’s just stressed. He’s a huge nerd about biology, he only wants to find students that will be as hyped to talk about freaking cells as him. Do this for me, please guys.»
« Can you tell Mr. Lallemant we’re sorry, sir? We didn’t know we made him feel so bad.»
«You don’t know what someone goes through daily, so always try to be nice to them. And no, if you want to apologize, you’ll do it yourself. Now, let’s get back to our lesson.»
The atmosphere in the room stays cold after that little discussion. And even Mr. Demaury’s energy seems to have left the room. He’s as empty as Mr. Lallemant was this morning and it makes them feel even more bad about themselves.
Emma leans over to whispers into Lea’s ear. « We should do something for Mr. Lallemant.»
« Yes, we’ll come up with something.»
*
They never came up with something. Or at least, not directly. Mr. Lallemant was colder than ever after their last class. He seemed tired, with big bags under his eyes and no will to even make snarky comments. Plus, Mr. Demaury was sick the whole week so they didn’t attend any of his classes. And to be honest, he was the only one to give them the courage to go to Mr. Lallemant’s class.
So now, it was like this: nobody dared try to say something to Mr. Lallemant. But they at least now answered when he greeted them at the beginning of their class. The first time they did, he looked shocked and everybody was happy to see him looking at them with wide eyes. But he said nothing of it and just started his lecture like it was another normal day. So it didn’t encourage them, and some of the students stopped trying to be nice to him and kept their bad attitude.
But this time, it looked like Mr. Lallemant wanted to be anywhere but here. His voice was small, and he looked kind of lifeless. So, Lea decided that it was time they came up with something.
« Who can tell me what is inside a DNA structure? I suppose no one will try to answer, I don’t even know why I ask anymore. So, a DNA-
« Hm, sir ?»
« Yes, Lea ?»
« DNA structure is made out of molecules, but I don’t remember the name of it.»
Mr. Lallemant seems surprised and he stays silent for a minute, before shaking himself out of it.
« Yes, you’re right. And the molecules are called nucleotides. Do you know what’s inside a nucleotides ?»
« Isn’t it phosphate? Or is it the four nitrogen bases ?» Asks Anthony.
« It’s phosphate. But there’s also something inside phosphate. DNA is like a Russian doll but with different types of molecules that each have a purpose.»
When Mr. Lallemant gets out of class after their lesson, he seems less tired, and almost like he’s fighting a small smile while looking at his phone. Outside the classroom, Lea high five Anthony. They made their teacher kind-of happy, and it feels good.
*
A week to go and then, their winter vacation starts. But before that, their school is throwing a little party. Well, ''party'' is a big word. It’s an after-school get together for the whole school, teachers included, from 5p.m to 10p.m. Kind of like prom, in fact. It’s a way to say «you’re almost done, good luck for your finals after you get back from your holidays!».
And so, when they heard teachers could bring a plus one thanks to Mrs. Lecomte, their bubbly french teacher, the whole class was excited. Of course, Mr. Demaury is going to bring his lover as a plus one! Finally, the mystery is gonna be lifted! They can’t wait and at 5p.m sharp, they’re already in the gymnasium, waiting for all their teachers to arrive. For the moment, only the Bakhellals, Mrs. Lecomte and Mr. Lallemant are here.
« Have you seen him somewhere inside the school ?»
« No, no sign of him. Maybe he’s late ?»
« He’s never been late, that’s unusual.»
« Maybe he was horny before coming so he’s banging.»
« For fuck’s sake Anthony you hang out too much with Jérôme !»
*
Almost everybody is here now, it’s 6p.m but still no sign of Mr. Demaury. Every other professor is here, joking around together. And the little gang is sitting at a table, looking at Mr. Lallemant. They sure as hell aren’t going to miss Mr. Demaury if they keep looking at Mr. Lallemant since they’re such best friends. They still can’t figure out why.
He’s rolling his eyes at what Mrs. Lecomte just said. He still hasn’t smiled since he arrived and they wonder how can he have so many friends when he barely smiles.
« How can he crave to be loved when he never smiles ?»
« Maybe he's self-conscious about his teeth ?»
«Ugh, shut up Emma, it isn’t because of his teeth. Mr. Demaury said he's a nervous person, he must not feel comfortable enough.»
« Speaking of Mr. Demaury, he just arrived !»
« Oh my god, look how good he looks !»
« Wait, why is he alone ?»
« Don’t tell me he didn’t bring his plus one or I’m gonna cry !»
They see him literally skips until he reaches Mrs. Bakhellal and Mr. Lallemant. As soon as Mr. Lallemant sees him, his face hardens and he crosses his arms.
« What the fuck, did they fight ?»
« No way !»
« Let’s move to a table closer to them, I can’t hear what they’re saying !»
As subtly as they can, they try to move closer to where the teachers are. They don’t see that Mr. Demaury spotted them, but he only smiles in answer of them trying to be spies - and failing miserably.
When they reach their target, which is a small table next to the big buffet, they can kind of hear what their teachers are talking about. The music isn’t too loud for the moment to cover their conversation.
« You’re late. Again. »
« What do you mean, again ?! »
« Please Eliott, don’t play dumb. You’re always late! »
« But I was cuddling Marie! »
They don’t have time to get excited about what they just heard, because Marie might be the mysterious lover they kept pestering Eliott about, that Mr. Lallemant ruins it.
« You have an unhealthy relationship with that cat, Eliott. »
« She’s the one who wouldn’t let me leave! That’s why I’m all covered in cat hair. »
« Don’t you dare put your shirt in the hamper only because of that. You’re going to break the washing man, dude. »
« You did not just call me dude! »
And the next sight they see is what make them pause for a moment. Because Eliott squished Mr. Lallemant into his side with his arm around his neck, while one of his hand is holding Mr. Lallemant’s cheeks, making him do a fish face. And their bio teacher is only looking fondly at Mr. Demaury. At that, they all look at each other, a bit perplexed. Well, except Jérôme, who « tsk » loudly at them.
« Friends can be close, you all are just used to toxic masculinity. »
« Yeah, that’s my man,» says Anthony, kissing Jérôme’s cheek right after.
« We’re probably reading too much into this since we’re desperate to see who he’s dating. »
« You’re right, Lea. »
« And I don’t really get any gay vibes from Mr. Demaury. »
« Stop with the stereotypes Jérôme. »
« No, but look at him, no gay vibes at all! »
But when they turn their attention back to where Mr. Demaury - who they finally learned his name - and Mr. Lallemant are supposed to be, there’s only Mrs. Bakhellal and Mrs. Lecomte standing there. They sigh.
« Ok, we need to investigate though. I don’t care if he doesn’t have any gay vibes, maybe he really is with Mr. Lallemant. »
« Why would he? It’s Mr. Lallemant! »
« Oh my god guys I just thought of something ! » Emma gasps while hitting all of them on their shoulders.
« What the fuck Emma ?! »
« Stop hitting us every time you have something to tell us! »
« I bruise like a peach girl, and you know it! »
« Shut up, you all! Remember when Mr. Demaury told us about why Mr. Lallemant is the way he is ? » when they all nod, she continues, « He said they’ve been friends for a very long time! And he also told us that he’s been with his lover since high school! »
They look at her blankly, because they don’t really get it.
« Ugh, you’re all so stupid. Mr. Demaury told us how Mr. Lallemant always wanted to be a teacher, right? So obviously, they knew each other before going to college so…Probably since high school! »
And now, they get it. They all gasp, Jérôme exclaiming « Emma, you are the only straight I’ll ever call a genius, I love you ! » while hugging her before Lea speaks a bit louder to be heard over their excited squeals.
« Ok, we need to investigate! We have to keep an eye on them the whole night, got it? »
« Got it, chef! »
*
The party is in full swing now, and the little spies are only moving from one table to another, in hope of keeping an eye on their teachers.
Right now, Lea and Emma are next to the buffet, each with a drink in their hand, making small talk while checking behind them to see what their teachers are doing. Anthony and Jérôme are a few tables away, not too close to be spotted but not too far away either. Every one of them has a clear view of their targets, who are sitting facing each other. They're close, whispering in each other’s ear to talk - but they don’t take that as evidence since they all have to do that to be able to hear anything, thanks to the pop music playing loudly in the background.
The first thing they noticed is: they always stay close to each other. The only time they were apart was to get some food or drinks…for the other one. The spies are growing more and more suspicious as time pass, never leaving for too long to be sure to not miss anything.
The second thing they noticed is: Mr. Lallemant does know how to smile. And fuck if he’s not beautiful when he does. In the span of an hour, they’ve seen him smile and laugh more than during their previous year. Sometime, Mr. Demaury will say something that makes him laugh so much he’ll rock back and forth on his chair, before leaning his head on the other’s shoulder. And Mr. Demaury will smile so bright he could illuminate the whole room. Sometime they’ll start a silly game of thumb war, which are often lost by Mr. Demaury, and it’ll end with Mr. Lallemant doing a silly victory dance. And then Mr. Demaury will grab him by his shirt and make him sit back down before ruffling his hair to mess with him. For the whole night, it’s been like that, but nothing to confirm if they’re in a relationship or not. Which is very frustrating.
Mr. Demaury is looking around him, as if he’s assessing the situation going on around them, before turning his attention back to Mr. Lallemant. And he says something that makes Mr. Lallemant bite his bottom lip and look at the floor. The little group all look at each other with their brows furrowed, because it seems like their teachers are having an important conversation. For the next five minutes, they speak and look around them and the atmosphere around them seems to have changed. It looks like Mr. Lallemant is thinking about something like he’s trying to decide on something.
After a short while, he shrugs and turns back to Mr. Demaury with a small smile on his face. Mr. Demaury is asking him something else and after Mr. Lallemant nods, a smile appears on his face and they’re both standing up.
A slow song has come on now, and a lot of couples are already on the dance floor. Except for Mr. Bakhellal, who’s dancing with his sister, the cutest sight right now. In the next minute, Emma, Lea, Anthony, and Jérôme open their mouths so wide their jaws are closed to hitting the floor. Mr. Demaury is guiding Mr. Lallemant under the lights and, once they’ve giggled like kids for a few seconds, he throws his arms around Mr. Lallemant's neck, slowly moving them to the rhythm of the music.
The next thing they see is Mr. Demaury leaning his forehead against Mr. Lallemant’s, gently rubbing their noses together and this time, their relationship can not be mistaken for something else now.
Emma and Lea are suddenly running to join Anthony and Jérôme on their little table, which gives them a nice view of their teachers.
« Omg guys, they’re making my teeth rot. How sweet can they get? »
« I wanna have a boyfriend like that. » Sighs Jérôme.
« We all do man,» answers Anthony, while looking dreamily onto the beautiful couple slow dancing and looking so in love, the little group truly don’t get how they didn’t see it earlier. Mr. Lallemant and Demaury are holding each other as if scared to let go. But at the same time, they seem so comfortable, like they’re in their own bubble, whispering closely and smiling every few seconds.
But soon this little bubble is burst when the song ends and, the DJ should be fired for cutting this moment short. A new song comes on and it’s freaking dubstep. The group groans at the choice of song...how can you dance to something like that?
« I hate dubstep. It’s so lame. »
« Do the DJ think we’re back in 2010 or what? »
« Guys please stop arguing about dubstep and look at Mr. Demaury, what the fuck is he doing ?! »
What a sight to see. Because very handsome, smiley and nice Mr. Demaury is now jumping around, throwing his arms in all directions, certainly trying to « dance » while Mr. Lallemant is hiding his face in his hand, crouching on the floor. Which do not seem to bother Mr. Demaury, who keeps on jumping around, jamming to the blasting music?
« … They’re so adorable. I want to be them. »
« They make me hope I’ll find my soulmate too. »
«Soulmates? »
« Please Anthony, you can’t tell me that they don’t look like they’re soulmate! »
« You’re right. They’ll spend their life together, you can feel it. »
*
Their first-class after winter break is with Mr. Demaury and there's this charged energy in the whole classroom. Because they can’t wait. They’re impatient. They’re all seated at their desks, their legs bouncing up and down while waiting for their teacher to come in. Which he does, a minute after the bell rang.
« Good morning everyone! »
« Good morning! »
« So, how was your winter break? I hope you all had fun. »
« Yes we did! »
« Ok, good! Then let’s start, shall we? »
And so, their class starts. They’re all very distracted during the whole period and it must shows, because, after only twenty minutes of trying to talk about literature, Mr. Demaury gives up, puts his book down on his desk before leaning against it.
« Ok guys, what’s going on? I know you just came back to school and it’s your last year so it’s stressful, but you’re a lot more dissipated today than usual. »
They all stay silent, nobody dares speak up. Until Jérôme raises his hand, making everyone groans.
« Yes, Jérôme? »
« So… we saw you and Mr. Lallemant at the school party before winter break. »
« Yes. » his voice immediately turned cold. « What about it? »
«Nothing! We’re really happy for you! »
« Oh… » he all a sudden seems shy about being so cold. « OK. But why are you all acting weird, if you don’t have a problem with it? »
« We’re teenagers, sir. We’re curious. I mean, two of our teachers are dating, we wanna know stuff! »
Mr. Demaury laughs at that, smacking lightly his thigh at the same time before rubbing his face and sighing loudly.
« Ok. Ask away. You’re allowed three questions. »
Everyone starts whispering before Jérôme tells them to «pick a fucking question guys we don’t have all day!» and then, Jérôme is turning back toward their teacher.
« Ok, first question: do you plan on getting married to Mr. Lallemant? »
« Yes, actually, I bought a ring. »
Everybody cheers and claps in the room, making Mr. Demaury blush even harder than he already was while answering the question.
« Ok, ok, shh! He doesn’t know guys so quiet down, his classroom is not that far. »
« Ok, second question: how did you get together ?»
« Wow, ok. So, eum..» he squares his shoulder a little, clear his throat before talking again, « You know how sometimes I don’t come for a whole week ? » they all nods, waiting, « Well, it’s because of eum.. some mental health problems, I have. » he exhales, shaking himself a little, « I’m bipolar. » he marks a pause, but nobody knows how to react. So Jérôme, being Jérôme, answers simply:
« Ok. We don’t know what to say but thank you for sharing this with us, I guess? »
Mr. Demaury laughs a little at that, before wiping his eyes slowly. « You’re welcome, I guess. Anyway, that wasn’t your question. » he takes a breath, crossing his arms in front of him, « So, we flirted for two, three weeks after we met and then we started dating. But we were young and I got scared because of something he said and then I fucked up. So, I tried to win him back and when it finally happened, I had an episode. When it passed, I tried to end thing with him, but he didn’t let me do it. He said that we’ll make it work, and we’ve been together since. So, yeah. Here’s your very personal answer. »
Jérôme doesn’t take another minute before asking his new questions, while everyone protests because he didn’t consult them.
« You said you met each other in high school, right? How did you two meet? »
A smile spread Mr. Demaury’s lips, while he looks fondly to his feet as if remembering how it went down years ago.
« I had just transferred school, I was walking in on my first day when I bumped into him. I saw him with his friends, laughing about something. Lucas didn’t see me. But I saw him. He was all I could see actually. »