Introductions

Title: Introductions
Characters/Pairing: America, England
Warning: Human names
Summary: This wasn't how he meant to get introduced to the new teacher.

This was not how Alfred Jones had been hoping to handle this. Old Mrs Brittany Islander had finally retired last year and he'd yet to meet her replacement. According to his brother Matthew (Williams, Library Science) Islander had personally selected a former student of hers (A Kirkland, winner of some sort of elaborate literary award for some book series or other he'd written) to take over the English and 'soft science' department.

He wasn't totally sure, but Matt had gone into shock when he'd heard and had spent a few hours gasping about how this was a very bad idea.
However, as Alfred was neither a department head, nor had anything to do with the the soft science department, he'd yet to meet the new English teacher even though it had been a good four months still classes had started. The mysterious Kirkland had refused to show up to any events, games, or even the school conferences. Alfred still was no closer to meeting the new teacher now then he had been when Mrs Islander had retired.
This hadn't stopped him from getting information from a tried and true, time honored source of information for all teachers - the students.

From Peter - "He's a jerk."
From Wy three seconds later - "He's so dreamy.

"You just say that cause you loooove him!
"You take that back!'

Ok, so maybe the first year chemistry students weren't the best of sources, but neither had been the seniors, as the entire lot of them had stared at him and then started giggling over their beakers. After a week of giggling and sideways looks Alfred had been forced to enter into negotiations to save what was left of his pride.

No more giggling and he'd teach them to make their own rockets, fuel included.

(He'd only been able to uncover that Kirkland had monstrous eyebrows, messy blond hair, and green eyes, and had to date, made every single one of the would be-Hemingways and Shakespeare weep in fear.)

All of that lead to right now.

Right now he was standing in the middle of his classroom, being dripped on by the latest Thing To Go Boom In Chem Class, the alarm going off, and he was trying very hard not to mentally undress the eye-browed god that had just torn open his class room door.

His students, traitors all of them, had pulled back and were industrially (for once) bent over their beakers in dead silence.

"Um."

One of those massive brows arched. Christ, was there a school or something for English teachers that taught them to dissect people with a glare?

"If you do not mind terribly," oh god the new English teacher was English, "Some of us have actual work that needs to be done."

Wasn't the English department on the other side of the campus? For that matter, so was everything else, except for Gilbert and the Phys Ed guys? "Oh hey, yea, sorry about the noise. Normally not that loud, yea?" Alfred flashed his best "I'm in Charge and I Know What I'm Doing" smile at the other teacher.

It bounced off a wall of icy English stoicism with a little pathetic whimper.

"Quite," drawled Kirkland, making it rather obvious as he glanced at the various burns and torch marks around the room that he believed anything but.

Alfred threw his hand out, paused when the other didn't take it, and realized why. Wiping most of the ooze off on his pant leg, he offered it again.

"Alfred F Jones. Chemistry and Physics," he said willing Kirkland to take it.

After a long moment, the Englishman finally shook his hand. "Arthur Kirkland, English and Theater," he paused. "Do you normally allow your students to gamble in class?"

Gamb - Alfred snapped his head around in time to see the nurse's little sister hand over a folded bill to Ravis.

"Hey!" Kirkland smirked and made good his escape as Alfred lunged towards his seniors with a yelp.

One mumbled lecture later ("But we saw you betting with Mr. B last week about Mr Vargas and the new Spanish teacher! " "Do as I say not as I do!"), Alfred had time to reflect on finally getting to meet Arthur Kirkland. His little traitors however, got to labor under the surprise quiz he'd been keeping as a back up threat.

1. Kirkland was English. And despite what anyone said, Alfred was actually quite fond of England. He had some wonderful times over there as an exchange student.
2.Kirkland was apparently taking over all of the former Mrs Islander's duties in the school. Alfred made a mental note to 'volunteer' for every up coming production.
3. Kirkland was hot. Alfred could more then appreciate that, in fact, he really liked hot English men, re point one and two.

He tapped his pen against the list and wondered - was Kirkland taking over all of his predecessor's duties?
If so...

He grinned to himself. The students all paused and stared at him in fear. They knew that look and it rarely boded well for well, anyone.

Mrs Islander had been one of the sponsors for both Science Olympiad AND the Girl's Dance team.

This was going to be good.