Bonnie Murdock (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
is_the_motion) wrote2016-02-09 07:49 pm
is_the_motion) wrote2016-02-09 07:49 pm
(no subject)
It's been getting harder.
Bonnie forces the overalls over the bump and the sweater. The sweater hides the edge of the bulge, but it's hot, and she doesn't know how long she'll be able to keep this up once the weather warms up.
That problem turns out to be a little sooner than she thought. It's a warm morning, and she has a long session in front of the board trying to explain vectors to her seniors class, when she starts to feel a bit hot, and the writing on the board is just a little blurry... and then there's an almighty crash.
"What are you doing?"
"You need to loosen tight clothing."
"What if she ain't got no underwear on?"
"Why would she not have no underwear on?"
"That's for a heart attack."
"You're doing it wrong, you're meant to do the kiss of life."
"That's if you're dead, stupid, she's clearly breathing. Did someone go to get the nurse?"
Bonnie opens her eyes. She's on the floor, her overalls are unbuttoned, and there's a crowd of concerned-looking seniors peering at her.
"I'm not dead." she says weakly. "Don't do the kiss of life."
One of the girls helps her sit up, and pulls off the sweater, which is now on show for everyone to see.
"You okay Mrs M?"
"I'm fine, I think I just got overheated." Bonnie says.
The students are gazing at her middle. She follows their gaze. Sitting like this, the bump is obvious through her t-shirt.
Damn.
"Er, Mrs M? Are you, er... knocked up?" one of the boys asks.
Bonnie gets up off the floor and sits on the chair, doing up her overalls again.
"Yeah. I'm knocked up." she says.
The teenagers make various silly noises. Bonnie hushes them.
"Right, here's the deal." she says. "You all got to keep this quiet. Real quiet. I'm gettin' remarried at the end of the month and if the principal finds out, I'll almost certainly be fired, and your new teacher ain't gonna be half as fun."
This quietens them down. In fact, they look shocked.
"Are you serious?" one boy asks. "She couldn't really fire you could she?"
"Could and would." Bonnie says, meeting his gaze seriously. "Especially if she knew you all now know. She'd say I was bein' an immoral influence. I need you all to keep it quiet, at least until after the weddin'. Can you do that? 'Cos I got three kids to feed and I cain't afford to lose my job."
"We'll take it to the grave Mrs M." one of the boys says, and the rest of the class agree.
At this point the nurse arrives, and hustles Bonnie off to check her over. Bonnie hopes the kids really will keep her secret, but the odds of thirty teenagers keeping something this big under wraps don't feel in her favour.
She wants to get time to warn Stuart and Ted that her secret is out at lunch, but she can't find them. She wishes not for the first time that mobile phones had been invented.
Then she remembers: it's Stuart's debate team final. He and Ted will be in the hall. But will it put him off if she tells him before he goes on stage? She hurries off there, taking her lunch with her. By the time she arrives, the debate is already started.
Stuart is clearly in his element; debate team allows him to show off legitimately, while giving him the challenge of putting things both intelligently and in a way other people can relate to. Bonnie watches him from near the back with pride, as he makes debate mincemeat of his senior opponent.
Towards the end of the debate, when it's clear Stuart is winning, and has just made a cocky remark at his opponent's expense, his opponent suddenly looks across at Stuart and smirks nastily.
"So Stuart, I got one more question." he says "Is it true Coach Calhoun's gonna be yer new daddy?"
Bonnie feels her heart drop into her stomach. Oh God.
It's actually not Stuart who moves first. It's Ted, in the front row, who gets up, leaps onto the stage, and punches the senior hard in the nose.
In seconds, it's chaos. Ted is beating the crap out of a guy half a foot taller than him. Stuart is torn between wanting to help and pulling Ted off. The senior's friends are all piling into the fight. And she's the only teacher there and she can't pile in...
She takes a deep breath and bellows.
"YOU PUT EACH OTHER DOWN OR I SWEAR TO GOD YOU WILL ALL FIND YERSELF IN DETENTION FER THE REST OF THE TERM."
It works, sort of. At least everyone except Stuart, Ted and the senior pauses; so Bonnie bellows again.
"EVANS, EVANS AND MORRISON, STOP FIGHTING THIS INSTANT!"
The three stop, mid-punch. Stuart goes red. Ted still looks enraged. And then both go pale, looking behind Bonnie.
She turns, and faces the Principal.
Bonnie forces the overalls over the bump and the sweater. The sweater hides the edge of the bulge, but it's hot, and she doesn't know how long she'll be able to keep this up once the weather warms up.
That problem turns out to be a little sooner than she thought. It's a warm morning, and she has a long session in front of the board trying to explain vectors to her seniors class, when she starts to feel a bit hot, and the writing on the board is just a little blurry... and then there's an almighty crash.
"What are you doing?"
"You need to loosen tight clothing."
"What if she ain't got no underwear on?"
"Why would she not have no underwear on?"
"That's for a heart attack."
"You're doing it wrong, you're meant to do the kiss of life."
"That's if you're dead, stupid, she's clearly breathing. Did someone go to get the nurse?"
Bonnie opens her eyes. She's on the floor, her overalls are unbuttoned, and there's a crowd of concerned-looking seniors peering at her.
"I'm not dead." she says weakly. "Don't do the kiss of life."
One of the girls helps her sit up, and pulls off the sweater, which is now on show for everyone to see.
"You okay Mrs M?"
"I'm fine, I think I just got overheated." Bonnie says.
The students are gazing at her middle. She follows their gaze. Sitting like this, the bump is obvious through her t-shirt.
Damn.
"Er, Mrs M? Are you, er... knocked up?" one of the boys asks.
Bonnie gets up off the floor and sits on the chair, doing up her overalls again.
"Yeah. I'm knocked up." she says.
The teenagers make various silly noises. Bonnie hushes them.
"Right, here's the deal." she says. "You all got to keep this quiet. Real quiet. I'm gettin' remarried at the end of the month and if the principal finds out, I'll almost certainly be fired, and your new teacher ain't gonna be half as fun."
This quietens them down. In fact, they look shocked.
"Are you serious?" one boy asks. "She couldn't really fire you could she?"
"Could and would." Bonnie says, meeting his gaze seriously. "Especially if she knew you all now know. She'd say I was bein' an immoral influence. I need you all to keep it quiet, at least until after the weddin'. Can you do that? 'Cos I got three kids to feed and I cain't afford to lose my job."
"We'll take it to the grave Mrs M." one of the boys says, and the rest of the class agree.
At this point the nurse arrives, and hustles Bonnie off to check her over. Bonnie hopes the kids really will keep her secret, but the odds of thirty teenagers keeping something this big under wraps don't feel in her favour.
She wants to get time to warn Stuart and Ted that her secret is out at lunch, but she can't find them. She wishes not for the first time that mobile phones had been invented.
Then she remembers: it's Stuart's debate team final. He and Ted will be in the hall. But will it put him off if she tells him before he goes on stage? She hurries off there, taking her lunch with her. By the time she arrives, the debate is already started.
Stuart is clearly in his element; debate team allows him to show off legitimately, while giving him the challenge of putting things both intelligently and in a way other people can relate to. Bonnie watches him from near the back with pride, as he makes debate mincemeat of his senior opponent.
Towards the end of the debate, when it's clear Stuart is winning, and has just made a cocky remark at his opponent's expense, his opponent suddenly looks across at Stuart and smirks nastily.
"So Stuart, I got one more question." he says "Is it true Coach Calhoun's gonna be yer new daddy?"
Bonnie feels her heart drop into her stomach. Oh God.
It's actually not Stuart who moves first. It's Ted, in the front row, who gets up, leaps onto the stage, and punches the senior hard in the nose.
In seconds, it's chaos. Ted is beating the crap out of a guy half a foot taller than him. Stuart is torn between wanting to help and pulling Ted off. The senior's friends are all piling into the fight. And she's the only teacher there and she can't pile in...
She takes a deep breath and bellows.
"YOU PUT EACH OTHER DOWN OR I SWEAR TO GOD YOU WILL ALL FIND YERSELF IN DETENTION FER THE REST OF THE TERM."
It works, sort of. At least everyone except Stuart, Ted and the senior pauses; so Bonnie bellows again.
"EVANS, EVANS AND MORRISON, STOP FIGHTING THIS INSTANT!"
The three stop, mid-punch. Stuart goes red. Ted still looks enraged. And then both go pale, looking behind Bonnie.
She turns, and faces the Principal.