*peeks out from behind story* Hi guys. I really didn't intend for the last chapter to spark the great Lois/Lana/True Love debate. I'm going to reiterate a couple of things about me. I absolutely love Lois and Clark together and am in no way a closet Lana/Clark shipper. It's one of the reasons I don't watch Smallville. Lana Lang just bugs me. Probably why she's dead in my story. However I do believe that a younger Clark might be persuaded to marry her. Alt-Clark was all set to do so before he met Lois. And if she knew his secret and professed to love him all the same, I can see Clark giving her his whole heart without truly knowing what that meant. Anyway, I didn't meant to bring up the whole debate again, especially because there is a now a thread to discuss it. Oh right. I had one more point. I'm not going to have Clark behave indecently with the student he believes to be much younger than him. He might be a little scandalized by how much he thinks about her, even in the most platonic of ways, but he would never force himself on her.
Those are the way I stand on this.
But besides that, and on a much happier note, I really appreciate all the FDK on the last chapter. For the most part, I'm glad people are intriuged by the premise so far. My most effusive thanks to Missy G for being such a wonderful beta-reader and for Catherine Bruce for spurring me on and giving me helpful insights into her mind as she read it.
Okay. Well that was a long and boring authors note, so here's part 3.
From Part 2 An hour and a half later, it was time for the infamous Mr. Kent’s class. Lois grabbed the Lit book she had picked up from the front office and headed down to room 203. She waved as she saw Dana in the hall and grinned in genuine pleasure when she realized the girl was headed toward the same class she was.
“Hi Lois! You’re in Mr. Kent’s class too?” Dana said as she caught up with Lois in the hall.
“Yeah,” Lois grinned and lowered her voice. “So I hear he’s pretty cute, what do you think?”
Dana’s jaw dropped. “You mean you haven’t seen him?”
“Not in person, no.”
Dana grabbed Lois’ arm and pulled her through the crowd. “Oh girlfriend, you are *so* in for a treat!” Part 3Caught up in Dana’s schoolgirl excitement, Lois followed her until they reached the door marked 203. Dana pushed open the door and they entered Mr. Kent’s English Lit. Lois was prepared to sneak in and unobtrusively find a seat in the back, but Dana propelled her forward.
“Mr. Kent, we have a new student.”
The man looked up from his desk, an affable grin sliding across his face. “Hi Dana.” He turned toward Lois and extended his hand. “Hello, my name is Clark Kent. I’ll be your English teacher this year.”
Lois managed a grin. “Yeah, I got that from the schedule. My name is Lois Lane,” she finished, grasping his hand to shake it. Her throat suddenly felt a little bit dry at the contact. However gorgeous he was in his picture, he looked ten times better in person. As Lucy would—and did—say: “that man is cut!” His thick hair brushed over his forehead a little, just enough to be endearing. But despite the obvious good looks, he looked tired. The intent gaze behind his glasses was a little haunted, but the smile on his face was genuine.
“It’s a real pleasure to have you in my class, Lois. Would you like to take that empty seat next to Dana?” Clark gestured to a seat in the second row and Lois nodded. “Okay, great. We’re in the middle of discussing The Scarlet Letter, by Nathanial Hawthorne. Have you read it?”
Lois nodded and Clark’s smile widened. “Great! Well then you’ll be a step ahead of the game. If you’ll take a seat, I’ll just introduce you to the class really quickly.”
At the look Lois gave him, Clark laughed and threw up his hands in mock surrender. “No speeches, I promise. I’ll just say your name and we’ll move on.”
Lois grinned at him and moved to the seat Mr. Kent had pointed out, just as the tardy bell rang. Mr. Kent stepped up in front of the class, a stack of papers in one hand.
“Hi guys,” he watched the class response with an amused look glinting in his eyes. About half the class gave a muttered “hello.” Jenny Parkins sat up straight and belted out a chipper “Hello, Mr. Kent!” to which Clark acknowledged with a nod.
“As I’m sure you all know, we have a new student today. And don’t all turn around to gawk, either!” Sure enough, six or seven heads turned sheepishly back to the front. “Her name is Lois Lane and she just transferred from New York City. Now moving on, I’ve graded your quizzes over chapters 1-13.”
The class groaned and Clark smiled as he began handing them out. This was his lifeblood, these kids scowling at him. It was scary how much he relied on them for his general well being. After Lana had died he had withdrawn from all his friends. They understood and gave him his space, of course, but it was never really the same. He never came back to them. He could turn his back on them and they would be fine. They were always more of Lana’s friends than his anyway. But these kids… He wasn’t allowed to turn abandon them. And that was when he had thrown himself into teaching with a steadfast determination. It was really all he had to live for at the moment. His smile turned wry and self deprecating. His mother would tan his hide if she knew he had dark thoughts like that tumbling through his mind.
Throughout the rest of the class, Clark called on a few different kids, and one time Lois tentatively raised her hand. So far, this was the only class she had really paid attention in. She tried to tell itself it was the subject matter, because she honestly did enjoy literature, but in her heart of hearts she knew it was because of the way it was being taught. It was obvious that Mr. Kent genuinely adored literature in general. It was evident in every thought provoking question, every time he refused to let a student slide with a weak answer.
When the bell rang to end the class and the school day, Clark released his class and bid them to have a good weekend. Most of them poured out of the class without responding, but a few students gave him cheery waves and dashed off, obviously excited for their weekend to begin. He noticed Lois Lane lingering by her books and he walked over to her.
“So how was your first day at Metropolis High, Lois?” he said as Lois packed her books into a black backpack.
At the expectant voice, Lois jumped a mile. “God, I had no idea you were right there!” She shook her head and then smiled. “It was okay. You know, school is school.” Lois shrugged and shifted her back on her shoulder.
Clark nodded at this, but then shrugged. “You seem extremely well read and taught. It will be a pleasure having you in my class this year. I hope you have a good weekend.”
Clark gave her a small smile and then returned to his desk at the front of the classroom. He waved as Lois left the classroom and then faced his vacant room with a sigh. He hated the weekend. All those long, empty spaces of time… Time to reflect on things he didn’t want to think about. He briefly entertained the idea of going to spend the weekend at his parents’, but frankly, they knew him too well. If he went there, they’d be able to spot his depression in an instant. He had a stack of papers higher than his knee to grade, but with his speed he was usually able to make quick work of them. Perhaps he’d spend the weekend grading things the normal way. He could write some long feedback to his students. Despite their groaning and protests, he knew they appreciated the long notes of encouragement.
With an ideal way to spend his weekend decided, Clark grinned to himself. There. He’d battle those ghosts with activity. But even with his weekend plan decided, he loathed returning to his empty apartment. Pulling out his chair, he sat down to answer some of his long neglected email. He typed in his password and logged in to the school-wide teacher’s email. Seven new messages.
One was from his buddy, Joey, about meeting for drinks. Clark hesitated and then dashed off a quick reply.
Joe—Sorry bud, I’m swamped with papers all weekend. Maybe next week? –ClarkHe felt a pang for the deception, but all Joe wanted to do lately was to play matchmaker. He had agreed twice to go out on blind dates with some of Joe’s single friends. The first woman spoke about herself constantly and Clark hadn’t even invited her back home for coffee. The second woman was actually good company and Clark had invited her back to his house to sample the dessert he had made earlier in the day and to share a glass of wine. They had taken their drinks out on his fire escape and when she had started to kiss him, he hadn’t minded. It had been so long since he had shared any sort of romantic moment with a woman he was nearly swept away by the flood of emotion. They had kissed fiercely and then she had pulled him inside, unbuttoning his dress shirt with deft fingers. He ran his fingers up the back of her shirt, finally darting inside to caress the warm skin beneath. Quickly divesting themselves of most of their clothing, they had tumbled to the bed, kissing and fumbling.
It was only when he had breathed against her skin a whispered name that everything came crashing down around him. His date jumped off of him, miffed and hurt as Clark hazily tried to realize what was wrong. As he slowly came back to reality, he grimaced and jumped off the bed, grabbing his jeans and shoving them on.
“I am so, so sor--”
“Go to hell!”
Clark watched as she grabbed her shirt and he held out her jacket wordlessly. Stomping away with as much dignity as she could, she opened his front door and slammed it as hard as she could. A picture in the hall shook loose, but he caught it before any damage occurred to it.
He gazed at the picture of him and Lana that he had saved from the cold floor and whispered the name he had said aloud—and to the wrong person—only a few moments earlier.
“Lana…”
Shaking his head quickly to release the memory from his mind, Clark turned back to his email. The next email was from Doug Scott, the principal, asking if Clark had found his third member for the Ready Writing team yet. Clark dashed off a quick reply begging for a little more time and then deleted the next three messages without reading them. Junk mail. One of the emails was from a parent concerned about her son’s behavior and he wrote her out a note to arrange for a parent teacher conference.
He recognized the last email address immediately and clicked it open with a little tingle of fear shooting through his chest. It was from his mother.
Clark Jerome Kent, you had better tell me you’ve been doing something constructive with your time. Don’t think that just because you’re hiding behind a computer screen that I still can’t tell when something’s wrong. I know things have been rough since… well, I know things have been rough, but you need to start living again. Lana wouldn’t have wanted you to keep to this lonely path you’re beating. Will you come down to visit us soon? Both your father and I miss you terribly. I hope things are going all right with your classes, but I’m sure they are. You were made for that job, Clark. You’re wonderful and all the kids adore you, I can tell. Write back to us soon.
Love, Mom Clark gave his computer screen a wry grin. His mother was never one for beating around the bush. He spent the next fifteen minutes writing a long reply, trying to keep his tone upbeat. He hated the fact that his parents were worrying about him. He was fine. He really was. He had grown to accept everything. He had already experienced the love of his life and he was grateful. There wasn’t anyone else in the world for him and he was all right with that. If only people would leave him alone. Pensive, Clark shut down his computer and grabbed his briefcase. He jogged down the stairs next to his classroom and walked to the parking lot.
He was glad Lois Lane had joined his class. She seemed like a good kid and one who would add some diversity. Despite her passive answers today in class, he had caught a glimpse of fire when she had argued with him over a point in the novel. He had never encountered a student who contradicted his views on the novels in class. It was a refreshing change. He’d have to keep his eye on her. Maybe he’d found his last Ready Writing team member.
As Clark headed toward his beat up Jetta, a flash of red caught his eye and Clark curiously glanced toward the light. A showy red convertible was parked next to his car and at a closer look, he saw it was Jill Reynolds’s. His satisfied smile listed a little. He knew he was supposed to care for all his students equally, and on paper and in class he was extremely fair. But in his secret heart, he disliked the girl immensely. She was too loud, too powerful, too dangerous. When he was within fifteen feet of his car, his heart dropped when he realized who Jill was talking to.
Lois Lane.
Lois Lane, the girl who had held so much promise! He couldn’t let her get sucked into Jill’s “friendship.” Clark quickened his step until he reached the two.
“Hello girls,” he said loudly, interrupting their conversation. He knew it was rude. He knew he should just get in his car and drive off, but something deep inside of him rebelled. It would be like leaving a kitten with a lion.
Both Lois and Jill looked up, and Clark was surprised to see a flash of annoyance on Lois’ face. It was quickly covered up, however as both girls waved.
“Hi Mr. Kent,” Lois called out. She continued to lean against the car. Jill stepped forward however, and held out her hand. Though confused by the greeting, Clark stuck out his hand out of habit. Jill grasped it lightly and his eyes widened when she stroked his knuckles seductively with her fingers. He hastily pulled his hand back.
“Hello Clark,” Jill drawled softly. Clark quickly recovered from Jill’s unusual handshake and set about rebuffing her advances.
“Please Jill, you can call me Mr. Kent.” Clark took a deliberative step backward and gave her a hard glare. That was it. He wasn’t letting Lois leave with this girl. She was a menace.
“Lois, do you have a moment? I’d like to talk to you about something,”
“I was actually about to catch a ride home with Jill,” Lois said, giving Jill a big smile.
Clark frowned. “It’ll just take a few minutes…”
“Sorry Mr. Kent, but I have to leave,” Jill said breezily, apparently recovered from his rebuff. “Lois, you coming?”
Clark searched his mind wildly for something to say. He had seen students get mixed up in Jill and Lexy’s crowd before and it wasn’t a pretty transformation. “I can drive you home!” he finally blurted out.
Jill gave him a cool once over.
“Sorry Mr. Kent, but I don’t think that would be very appropriate. Come on, Lois,” She slipped her Gucci sunglasses over her eyes and sank into the low slung car. Lois gave him a slightly apologetic glance before getting in herself. Clark had to jump back to avoid his toes being flattened as Jill sped out of the parking space at an illegal speed.
Clark stared after them, incredulous. That girl was vicious! He’d have to corner Lois Lane one of these days and beg her to find some new friends. Dana. Dana was nice. His cheeks stung from the unexpected rush of blood. Imagine that girl insinuating… It was positively insulting. Clark unlocked his car slightly petulantly. After those blatant advances on her part… it was obvious it was just sour grapes, but she had another thing coming if she thought he would ever in a million years come on to one of his students. Despite the fact that he was only about eight years older than most of them, a world of experience and development lay in those years. And there was no way in hell he’d ever be tempted by a conniving girl like Jill Reynolds. Clark started the ignition and backed up quickly, his thoughts racing along like the ever increasing speed of his car.
_________________________
Later that night, Clark’s third Ready Writing candidate was the only sober person in the room. Music blasted from the walls of the dance club, pounding through the floors and walls. Lois watched as Jill poured down her fourth drink. Though she wanted her to be a little loose, she definitely didn’t want her unconscious. Lois firmly grabbed the drink from the girl and pulled her to her feet.
“Come on, Jill. Let’s go over there,” Lois gestured to a far wall vaguely, trying to keep Jill away from the liquor. After that bizarre meeting with Mr. Kent, Jill had driven her over to Lexy Hartness’ house and told her that she better have her fake ID ready. Grinning, Lois had said that it wouldn’t be a problem, and just like that, Jill had given her some more club appropriate clothing. Apparently the fake ID was some friend criteria and she had passed. Lexy’s smile grew more genuine and for the next two hours, the three girls dominated the upstairs of Lexy’s house. Finally, primped and dressed to kill, they gave Lexy’s housekeeper a casual wave and left in Jill’s sporty convertible.
And just like that, Lois found herself managing two inebriated, underage teenagers.
Grabbing a firm hold of Lexy and Jill, Lois led them to a quieter part of the room—relatively quieter anyway— and sat them down on a couch.
“Great club!” Lois shouted over the music.
Lexy nodded and slurred. “Hell yeah. We go here every Saturday.”
“Do the other Rosettes go sometimes?” Lois asked innocently, holding her breath in anticipation.
“Yeah sometimes,” Jill said. “But some of them can’t get in. No fake IDs. You have a really good one. It looks real. Where did you go?”
“Oh… I went to my… cousin,” Lois quickly tried to turn the conversation back around.
“Hey so tell me about the Rosettes. Everyone thinks you guys are so cool.”
Jill beamed. “We are so cool. And not just anyone can be a Rosette either. You gotta work at it. You have to really want it.”
“How do you make sure someone really wants it?” Lois prodded.
“Ini—Inita—Initati—Tests.”
“Wow. So how many of you guys are there?”
Lexy answered for Jill, who had been distracted by one of the guys walking past.
“Six. We almost had seven, but…”
“You mean Beth Warner?” Lois held her breath. Beth Warner was the name of the girl who had died last year. She recognized her mistake an instant later as Lexy’s eyes grew startlingly more sober.
“I don’t even know who that is,” Lexy said harshly. She grabbed Jill and tried to stand. “I think it’s time we got another drin—whoa.” Lois was on her feet, keeping both girls steady before they tripped and fell. It was definitely time to go. She had befriended the girls she thought might be involved in Beth Warner’s murder and it was only her first day. As she grabbed the keys from Jill and shuffled them out the door, Lois grinned.
Not too shabby. She definitely wasn’t half bad at this undercover investigation thing.
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There you go, guys. I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I really need to write some more, but I was so enthralled by Harry Potter I couldn't tear myself away.
I leave for vacation on Thursday and won't be back until a few days after the first of August. I can get online every few days but I don't think I'll be able to post when I'm gone. I'm sorry! But I hope you guys will stick through the wait. Things start getting a little more exciting in the next few chapters.
As always, feedback is wonderful.
Laura
