Chapter Text
Jeff placed his lunch tray down on the table and looked at Blaine with a bright grin. “You will never guess what I just heard.”
Blaine made a slight motion toward a boy sitting by himself, talking on the phone. “Let me guess. You just heard that Tyson Godfrey got someone – that isn’t his girlfriend, Maia – pregnant?”
“What? He did? Seriously?” Jeff replied, shocked, looking back-and-forth between Blaine and Tyson. When Blaine nodded in reply, Jeff continued, “While that is definitely gossip-worthy news, that wasn’t what I was going to say. I was going to say that Ms. Maynard is out sick with the flu. She won’t be back to Dalton for at least a week. Awesome, right?”
“Wait; you’re happy about this?” Kurt asked, joining their conversation.
Jeff hesitated before answering, “Well, I’m not happy she’s sick. That sucks. However, I am happy that she’s not here today. Because that means we have a substitute. And a substitute means that we probably aren’t going to have that massive English test that’s scheduled for today.”
“But I spent all last night studying for it!” Blaine told him. “I even told Kurt we couldn’t go to the movies last night so I could study. And by the time I had finished, Kurt was already asleep, so I couldn’t even deliver on my promise to have sex with him to make up for it. If there’s no test, then I just completely wasted my entire night!”
“Well, I forgot to study because I spent all night online playing Call of Duty with Nick,” Jeff said. “So, I’m kind of hoping that the test is postponed until she gets back.”
Blaine sighed, defeated. “Do you at least know who the sub is? It’s not Mr. Freeman, is it?” he checked. “I always have trouble breathing around him because he wears way too much cologne in an attempt to cover up the overpowering stench of cigarette smoke that permeates his entire wardrobe. It’s disgusting. The scent is so strong that even the humans in his classes cover their noses around him. I don’t know why the school board keeps requesting him when they need a sub.”
“I know what you mean. But thankfully, it’s not Mr. Freeman. It’s some new guy. I wanna say his name is Mr. Collins?” Jeff said. “Greg has Ms. Maynard for Homeroom, and he told me this guy covered her class this morning and seems like a pretty chill dude. So, hopefully, that means he’ll have some sort of fun lesson plan or something for our class.”
“Guess we’ll find out when we get to English last period,” Blaine replied.
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Mr. Collins was seated at the desk in the front of the classroom when Blaine and Jeff walked in and took their seats, waiting for the class to begin. After the bell rang, Mr. Collins addressed the class. “Good afternoon, everyone. Ms. Maynard is out sick with the flu; I’m Mr. Collins, and I’ll be your substitute until she is healthy enough to return. I understand she had a test scheduled for today. And unfortunately for you, I happen to have copies of that test ready to go; so you will be taking it today. I’m going to take attendance, then I’ll pass out the tests. There will be no talking allowed during the exam. If you have any questions, or you need to bring something to my attention, you can raise your hand or walk up to the desk and ask me personally; but I don’t want to hear you talking to your neighbors, or I will assume you are cheating. And don’t let these hearing aids fool you into thinking I won’t hear your whispers because I will hear you. You get one warning; the next time you get caught, your test will be taken from you, and you will fail your exam. Have I made myself clear?”
Everyone in the class mumbled some form of agreement or nodded their head in reply. Mr. Collins then took attendance before beginning to hand out the exams to everyone. As he approached Blaine’s desk, Blaine startled then looked up at Mr. Collins in shock.
“You okay?” Jeff whispered to him.
Blaine kept his eyes on Mr. Collins while nodding his head in reply. “I’m fine,” he said, sounding anxious.
Mr. Collins stood next to Blaine and Jeff’s table, looking back-and-forth between them with narrowed eyes. “No talking during the exam,” he reminded them, before handing each of them a copy of the test and moving on to the table behind them.
<< Blaine, are you okay? >> Kurt’s voice sounded inside Blaine’s head, worriedly. << I just felt a huge spike of anxiety coming from you. >>
<< I’m fine. Just taking a test in English. I’ll talk to you after class, >> Blaine replied.
<< Okay. >>