Chapter Text
September
I take a deep breath as I stride into my classroom, noting the familiar smell of whiteboard markers mixed with the pleasant absence of body odour. The joy won’t last for long, thousands of children will soon rush in, allowing the classrooms to go back to their regular blend of sweat, deodorant, perfume, and pencil shavings. But I enjoy it while it lasts, placing my bag down by my chair. A smile stretches across my cheeks as I adjust the lone picture frame on the desk, myself and Eiki grinning at the camera, his miniscule fingers showing the classic ‘peace sign’.
Just me and my room. Alone.
It won’t last. As soon as you begin to hear voices drift through the corridors, students laughing, asking their friends loudly how their summer was before going on about theirs, that’s when you get slammed back into reality, back to counting down to the next summer. The next break. Sure, I love my job, but by God is it exhausting. Endless streams of essays, endless streams of questions, endless PowerPoints being created again or recycled again, more information being added with every year.
Over and over and over again.
The silence doesn’t last long, even shorter than I’d anticipated as Vasilica slams open my door, bursting through with Arthur not so far behind him. The Drama teacher grins, displaying his abnormal pointed teeth (which between us three have nicknamed ‘vampire fangs’ due to his Romanian heritage), immediately holding his arms out for a hug.
“Sigve! I missed ya like crazy this summer, come here!” So I entreat him to a hug, patting him on the back slightly before pulling away.
“Missed you too, Vas.” I nod at Arthur who nods in response (Vasilica always was the more hyper one out of the three of us), then brushes stray blond hair out of his face, the corners of his lips twitching.
“Oh, Sig,” Arthur begins, leaning against the white wall, “Have you met the new History teacher? Mrs Newberry’s replacement?” My new colleague? Solid no. When Mrs Newberry (the sweetest old soul) announced she was retiring, a sinking feeling appeared in my stomach at the thought of a new teacher and never left.
It would be fine if the new teacher were, say, a PE teacher, I wouldn’t have to cross them. But a history teacher? That’s my department. That means someone I don’t know, someone who could be incredibly annoying is going to be working here for the next however many years and I have to deal with them.
This means I might have to deal with the most annoying piece of crap on the planet for years. So I have been trying not to dwell on it, not to think about it in the slightest (although that’s all gone down the drain just now).
“I haven’t, no.”
Vasilica’s eyes widen, “Ah, we both saw him just a few minutes ago. He’s a nice guy, I think roughly around your age? Cute as well.” At ‘cute’ Arthur and I roll our eyes jokingly. Vasilica is the only openly queer teacher at this school (I don’t know if there are any others but if there are then they’re closeted), being unashamed and, well, very open about being bisexual. Of course there’s been the odd complaint from parents, and a few students make remarks sometimes (they get told off immediately) but other than that I’d say the response to him coming out has been a positive one.
“I second what Vasilica says, he seems like a nice guy though I will say one thing.” Oh no. Here it comes. And oh look, the worry and the sinking feeling are back once more. Great.
“I know you, Sigve. And based on your personality, you will either love or hate this man.”
Oh fuck.
I knew it.
The next however many years are going to be hell.
I am aware I can be quite opinionated, which stems from a lifetime of being annoyed by people easily. It’s hard for me to find people to connect to which is probably why I don’t have many friends. That and my lack of a social life outside of work due to always being busy doing this that and the other.
“I wouldn’t worry though!” Vasilica exclaims, fiddling with his lanyard, “I’m sure it’ll be fine!” I don’t think so. I don’t think so. I don’t think so. God, these next few years will be hell, especially the beginning of this year when he’ll be eager to get to know everyone, myself included. Yikes.
They both give me one more reassuring smile before heading off to their respective classrooms, trying to get ready for the eventual chaos that looms over us, making the air heavy, stifling breaths.
And me? Well, I make sure my room is in order, make sure it’s tidy even if that tidiness will disappear rapidly. I make sure the pencils on my desk are sharpened. I make sure the whiteboard is scrubbed clean, ready for the markers to dirty its surface once more. I make sure my computer is on, my login details typed in. Ready. Waiting.
I try to make sure that I’m ready for the chaos, ready for this new teacher. I try. But trying is not enough at this moment, the dread settling on me like a fresh coat of snow.
There’s a knock at the door, a steady rhythm, so I muster up a small “Come in”, eyes not drifting away from my desk.
“Hi there!” A friendly unfamiliar voice says so I finally glance up, taking in a man with gravity defying hair, a wide grin, and a brightly coloured plaid shirt.
“Hi…” I add, not really knowing what else to say. Fuck. Why do I have to be so bad at talking to people? God, I hate it.
“Um, I’m sorry, do you mind telling me where I can find N11? I’m new here.”
“N11? That’s just right opposite this room.” I say, stifling a laugh (I mean, the room numbers are on the doors, and this is N13). If he’s going in N11 (and noting the large box in his hands) then he must be the new teacher. My new co-worker. Oh God. How do I handle this?
The man bursts out laughing, a loud laugh that startles me slightly, bending over as he gasps for breath, “Oh my God. I just fucking- the room opposite-” At least he laughs at his mistakes I guess. Once he composes himself he walks over to me, sticking out his hand as he repositions the box, “I’m so sorry about that, I can be a huge dumbass at times. Henrik Densen, I’m the new History teacher.”
I take his hand, letting my lips twitch into a small smile out of politeness, “Sigve Thomassen, your fellow History teacher. You Scandinavian too?”
“In fact I am Danish, yeah,” Henrik grins, still shaking my hand (damn, that’s a long energetic shake).
“Ah, cool,” I say, eyes drifting downwards, “I’m Norwegian.” He finally let’s go of my hand, exclaiming that it’s cool before grabbing one of the chairs, pulling it up to me and placing down the box of belongings on my desk, causing me to knit my eyebrows in confusion.
“So…” He begins, the smile becoming more of an awkward one as I stare at him, “It seems I’m gonna be here for a while.” Oh boy… “So I thought we could get to know each other better, especially since your classroom is directly opposite mine.” Henrik the new teacher fiddles with his hands before letting them rest on knees.
I guess getting to know each other a bit better wouldn’t be too bad, it’ll at least allow me to determine whether I’m going to hate this guy or not. He seems… interesting so far, to say the least.
“Are you married?” He starts, brushing his hand through his hair, and I take the time with my mind focused on his question to look for a ring. There isn’t one. He’s unmarried.
“I am not. No.”
I was once, but I don’t want to go into that. Too personal, too many follow-up questions. Not something I feel comfortable talking about to pretty much a stranger.
“Ah, same here. I would like to be one day though,” He smiles once more, a wide grin with teeth, eyes shining with hope. No idea whether I want to get married again. Guess it depends on if I feel I’m with the right person. I’d have to be cautious too.
One failed marriage, and people think ok, fine, maybe it was the other person, there’s probably nothing wrong with this person. So dating is still a pretty good and viable option. However, two failed marriages and then people start to question whether the problem isn’t the other person and whether it’s actually you.
I get one more shot at this and I’ve got to make it count, I guess.
“Whereabouts did you work before you came here, Henrik?” I ask, meeting his eyes, noticing the blueness of them for the first time now that he’s up close.
“Around about the London area, there’s this school called Meadowview. Didn’t really like it there, students were a nightmare, and the rest of the staff were unpleasant. Just… didn’t feel like the environment I wanted to work in, you know?” I nod. Yeah, I get that. The school environment is definitely a deal breaker for most people.
“You never been to this town, have you?” I add and he nods sheepishly, “Where are you staying?”
This is actually going quite well, I would say. I mean, I’m actually asking someone questions for once so, quite frankly, it’s a miracle. Henrik seems interesting, interesting but also very nice and I don’t think I’m going to find myself hating him. He actually seems like someone I could get along with and maybe one day feel comfortable around. I don’t know about that last part. Maybe is the key word.
“Um… I’m down by one of the churches, roughly around a twenty-minute walk from here? On Victoria Road I think?”
“Ah, yes, I know where you’re referring to. Nice place, got some pretty surroundings.” Great place to walk around, take some pictures, that sort of thing. He picked a nice area to live in, that’s for sure.
“Yeah, I’m going to like taking my dog on walks round there.” Oh, he has a dog. That’s cool. I have my fair share of pets. No dogs but yeah.
“Are the staff and students nice here?” He fiddles with some of the items in the box, a Danish flag, a photo of him surrounded by quite a few other people, maybe friends, maybe family, I’m not sure.
“I would say so. I’ve been here for several years and they’ve always been pleasant.” Upon hearing this, he breathes a sigh of relief, lips twitching into a smile once more.
I glance at the clock on the opposite wall, checking the time. Almost time for first day chaos. “You should probably head to your room in a second, the students will arrive any second and I’d like you to have some time to one, get set up, and two, mentally prepare yourself,” I laugh a bit at the last part, letting him know that I’m joking slightly.
“Ah, cool! I will get out of your hair then,” He giggles, picking up the box, placing the chair back and heading to the door, “It was lovely meeting you, Sigve!” Damn, I’ve never met anyone this friendly and unfazed by me before. It’s weird, in a nice way.
I smile, “It was nice meeting you too, please let me know if you need anything, or if you’re confused about something. You know where to find me, just across the hall in N13.”
“Yep! Thank you!”
As he begins to open the door, something plagues the back of my mind and I call out, “Oh, Henrik?” Causing him to stop and look back at me, “Would you like me to show you round the town later, if you don’t have anything else going on?”
Henrik blinks at me, “Uh, that would be great, thank you, Sigve. And no, I don’t have anything going on, so I’ll see you then!” And he finally leaves my classroom, walking a few paces before entering his new home.
Second period begins with a beginning of the year assembly, to welcome the students back and welcome any new students to the school. I find a nice spot by one of the walls, observing my class and making sure no one misbehaves.
“Hi,” I hear a small whisper to my left and turn to find Henrik Densen, shooting me a soft smile.
“Hi,” I return, my eyes darting from my new co-worker to my students and back again. “How are you finding things?”
“Oh, great, thanks. Everyone seems really nice so far.”
“That’s good to hear.” I answer and we fall back into silence, my focus on the head, Tolys, giving his small speech (one that’s practically the same every year), stumbling over his words slightly (poor man is very very shy, makes you wonder why he’s the head).
“And this year we have a new staff member joining us, to replace Mrs Newberry. Everyone please give a warm welcome to Mr Densen, our new History teacher.”
The man in question shoots me another soft smile before walking up to the stage, displaying his bubbly, excitable nature to the school for the first time.
The rest of the day whizzes by in a flash, after the first couple of lessons I feel back in my environment, more prepared and ready for the year that will unfold. It seems that, along with everyone discussing their holidays, students are also discussing their opinions on Henrik, wondering what sort of teacher he will be. I wonder past some students who must have had him as a teacher, saying how excitable and nice he is. Hm, interesting.
And even after a crazy long day, it appears that Henrik still hasn’t run out of energy, despite being a thirty-five-year-old man like myself. I show him round the town, pointing out specific highlights like the town centre, especially the shopping centre renowned for being a place where members of the royal family have visited in the past.
Throughout the entire tour, I keep wondering to myself, is this really who Henrik Densen is? A nice, friendly guy? Is there more to him that I’m yet to discover? A hidden side?
I guess only time will tell, honestly.
This year is going to be interesting to say the least.