***
The next week:
Monday.
“Boo!”
Abby leapt out of her skin as Tim jumped up behind her as she walked towards college. He laughed at her reaction and fell into step with her, “so, how was your weekend?”
She nodded, “ok I guess, got some of those reports done that Sue asked for.”
“ooh. Wild child.”
Abby flashed Tim a glare and he laughed again, “and what of the course? Did you resort to stabbing yourself with a biro just to get out of it?”
Abby smiled at Tim quizzically, “I worry about you sometimes, I really do...actually the course was ok...”
“Oh really? Did you meet a beautiful man to take your mind off a certain Croatian sex-God?”
Abby laughed as they walked into college, “well no actually I didn’t have to...”
Tim frowned in confusion and rushed to catch up with her as she hurried into the English department. “Ok, now I’m confused, are you speaking in American? You know I don’t like when you do that. English Abigail. English!”
Abby shook her head and turned to Tim as she held open the door to the ladies toilets, “I didn’t have to meet someone to take my mind off Luka because Luka was at the course.”
And with that said she walked into the toilets letting the door close behind her. Tim stood, his mouth open in shock as the door shut in his face.
***
The head- teacher was supposedly stuck on the phone with a very angry and important parent, leaving the staff to sit around irritably waiting for the excitement of the Monday morning meeting. Tim was excitedly retelling the wonders of a Kylie concert he’d watched on Saturday night, he burst into ‘better the devil you know’ with full dance moves. Abby laughed and looked away, despairing at how anyone could be that full of life at 8:30 on a Monday morning. As Tim reached the chorus, sending Jenny into peels of hysterical laughter Jim Cohen the Sports science teacher turned around with a glare, his bald head almost purple with rage.
“would you please shut up?!!”
Tim stared at Jim in wide eyed shock before cracking a smile, “ok Jim, just let’s finish the chorus shall we? Coz it’s true, what they say-ee-ay, it’s better the devil you know!!” Tim flung his arms out theatrically before blowing a kiss at Jim.
Everyone knew Jim was a bigoted homophobe, he’d never liked Tim and never been afraid of telling him. But Tim was tough and proud and liked nothing better than to torment Jim, knowing he couldn’t really do anything to him if he wanted to keep his job. But today Jim was annoyed and Tim’s flamboyance had gone a step too far. He stood up. Towering over Tim and pointing a fat finger into the smaller man’s face, “I asked you nicely to shut up! I’ve got a bloody head ache and I don’t have time for your little fairy jokes!”
Tim stared in shock before standing up, refusing to be bullied. “my fairy jokes? Why don’t you just get it over with and call me a f*g**t Jim, we all know you’ve been dying to say it ever since I started working here!”
Jim stared, almost shaking with anger. The staff was silent, waiting for something to happen, too shocked to know what to do. Jim shook his head and started to walk away before stopping and turning back to Tim,
“you think you’re pretty f**king clever don’t you. Well one day this country will come to its senses and realize that it’s f*gs like you corrupting our kids. You don’t deserve to work here!”
Tim stared, his brow twitching with anger. He was tough, but what Jim said hurt, worse than any kicking he’d ever got at school for being gay. The head teacher walked into the room then, demanding to know what exactly was going on, but Tim didn’t hear her. He ran towards Jim administering the only form of violence he knew would work on a man like that. He kicked him hard in the balls, sending Jim crashing to the floor with a roar of agony. “you can f**k off and die you Nazi scum!”
“Timothy! I don’t even expect that sort of language from our students, let alone a member of staff.”
Tim stared at the head teacher and shook his head. “yeah, well maybe that’s the problem with this f**king college.” He rushed out of the meeting room, all eyes following him in shocked silence. The head teacher finally regained her composure and started to shout after Tim. Realizing he was ignoring her she turned to the staff and glared with typical head teacher sternness. “I hope the rest of you realize that behavior like that will not be tolerated in this college. Not for a second!”
Abby stood up then, having watched the whole event in shocked numbness with the rest of the staff. She knew Tim would be in trouble, but she couldn’t sit there knowing that the guilty party was being ignored, still lying on the floor clutching his balls.
“actually Sue I think you need to realize that Tim’s reaction was in response to the homophobic bullying of Jim Cohen.”
Sue glared at Abby angrily, “I won’t hear any excuses Miss Lockhart.”
“well then you’re as bad as Jim! I know what Tim did was stupid, but that asshole deserved everything he had coming.”
“Miss Lockhart!”
“I’m not finished! I’m a teacher, I see bullying and I hate it. That man is a bully. There’s no excuse for that. He’s been on Tim’s case for three years now and it’s disgusting that we can all just sit here and let it happen.” She looked around at her fellow teachers who avoided her gaze in nervous embarrassment. With a deep sigh she shook her head and left the room.
***
Abby sat at the back of the chemistry building and took a long slow drag of her cigarette before throwing it onto the floor. She sighed and emptied a couple of tic tacs onto her hand, irradiating the smoky taste from her mouth was one way she had of feeling less guilty about her failure to quit. Staring down at the little box of mints she barely noticed as Luka walked up to her, standing over the bench she was sitting on.
“I haven’t been here long, but I can work out which teachers no one ever messes with...that was a brave thing you did in there.”
Abby looked up at Luka and smiled. She shook her head, “brave or stupid, I can’t imagine Sue is gunna let this one slide...”
Abby shuffled along the bench to make room for Luka and he sat down next to her, she sighed deeply, “I just couldn’t bare to see Tim get all the blame while that Bigoted idiot lay on the floor holding himself”
Luka let out a light laugh, before letting his hand rest on Abby’s shoulder for a second. Taking it away he smiled at her, “Well I think it’s very admirable that you stood up for your friend. He’s lucky to have you.”
Abby stared at Luka for a second, seeing the genuine pride and admiration in his eyes. At that moment she was overwhelmed by gratitude for the man sitting beside her. Without thinking she leant in and kissed him, a brief, unexpected kiss.
Pulling back as she realized what she had done she pulled a face of amused horror. “Oh my God, I’m sorry...I can’t believe I did that...”
She stood up, still staring at Luka and let out a nervous laugh before turning her back on him to cringe openly at how incredibly embarrassing she was being. Taking a deep breath she turned back to him and forced a smile as she backed away “I should go...”
Luka stood up then, making her stop in her tracks. Without a word he walked towards her and held her shoulders in his strong hands. She closed her eyes as he leant down to her and kissed her, a soft, gentle, lingering kiss. Pulling back they stared into each others eyes, trying to figure out exactly what was going on.
Luka broke the silence in a voice barely louder than a whisper “have dinner with me tonight.”
Abby was still for a second, immobilized by the turn of events. Blinking herself awake she cleared her throat, fighting to speak with some semblance of normality, in spite of how light-headed she felt. “Ok.”
“I’ll meet you at 6 by the vending machine?”
A slow smile spread across Abby’s face and she nodded, no longer trusting her voice.
With a pleased smile Luka let his hands slowly drop form Abby’s shoulders as he walked away, leaving her standing alone at the back of the chemistry building. She watched him leave before shaking her head to herself and mouthing “wow” at the sheer, beautiful weirdness of what had just happened. Looking around her to see if anyone had seen them, and seeing no one she giggled to herself, pulled her jacket tighter round her waist and started to walk back into the building.
***