Chapter Text
He was late.
He dashed round the corner and ran down the hallway as fast as he could.
He was late.
His duffelbag was jumping on his shoulder, unzipped, his shoes threatening to fall out with every step.
He was late.
He passed one door after the other, but his one was still too far away.
He was late.
He ran up the stairs, skipping every other step.
He was late.
Again.
He snatched the door handle as he came to a sudden halt at the end of the corridor, and ripped the door open. He took a few steps inside and bent down, hands on knees, panting.
Finally, he could stop and catch his breath.
“You are late, Mr. Reed. Again.”
“I’m sorry Ms.”
“This is the fourth time this year.”
“Won’t happen again, Ms.”
“You said the same thing the first three times.”
“I’m sorry Ms.” What more did this hag want??
“Sit down. The test will begin soon.”
“TEST?! ”
“It was announced 3 weeks ago”
He forgot. He phcking forgot. AGAIN.
Defeated, he walked to the last free desk in the back. Muffled giggles followed him as he passed his classmates. He would fail. He knew he would. Phck.
He was infamous for being late and being clueless to what was going on, at all times. Some might have thought he didn’t actually care, but that was far from the truth. He wanted to care. But he didn’t have the time to care.
Shooting for a spot in the Olympic Gymnastics Team came with sacrifices. Early morning training sessions, team meetings, choreography and skills work seven days a week left little time for academics. Not even Sundays were free for the up-and-coming star gymnast Gavin Reed.
Lucky for his parents and coach, Michigan state didn’t support boys’ gymnastics, and without state mandated regulations he was under his private club’s mercy. They dictated his training and event participation, and worked Gavin to the ground. Not even the weekends were his; he was expected to work on his routines on Saturdays, and do cardio on his own on Sundays.
It was necessary, they would tell him. This was his future, they would say. This was what he wanted, right? Was it? No-one ever asked him. Like they didn't even care. This was all decided for him, and disappointing his parents wasn’t an option.
Still, failing his classes bothered him. He was a student. A student’s job was to do well in school. But how could he, when he was expected to spend every waking minute –outside of mandatory school hours– training with or without his tyrant of a coach? He had no time to study or do homework. He didn’t even dare think about having a social life. He was lucky he could keep one friendship alive.
Him and Tina had been best friends since they were kids. They met in elementary school, and had been inseparable since. Even tho their after school activities didn’t align, they were still somehow as close as they had always been. While Gavin was busy working his ass off in the gym, Tina spent most of her time with her theater group during the week. Her weekends were spent at the women’s shelter, where she volunteered.
Tina was the most compassionate person Gavin knew. While her usual self was cheeky, chatty, and sometimes a bit too direct, if someone was in need, she was the first to offer a helping hand, or a shoulder to cry on.
She never mocked or ridiculed Gavin for struggling with his studies. If anything, she took it upon herself to help him out as best as she could, including some less than savory practices. These may or may not have included preparing cheat sheets for him, or showing him her answers, not caring about putting herself at risk.
But she wasn’t there this time.
He was among the last people to finish his work. Not because he had so much to say, but because he wanted to give himself the chance to magically conjure up some relevant information he could jot down, that could maybe earn a point or two for him.
He wasn’t the type to just give up. That would make him a terrible athlete. Still, it was hard to try and keep positive when it was his second time trying to get a passing grade in this subject.
He looked through his paper, tho there wasn’t much to look at. He did write something to every question, but certainly not enough. He knew he would get a D at best. With a sigh he got up to bring his paper to the teacher’s desk.
“Mr. Reed? If you could stay after class, please.”
What did she want again!? Gavin’s relationship with Ms. Johnson had always been tense. History had never been his favourite subject, too dry and too much to learn. With his gruelling training schedule and his lack of interest in this class, it was no wonder he kept failing.
He nodded anyway and placed the paper on the desk. He went back to his bag to pack up, and waited for the rest of the class to leave. When there were only the two of them left, he walked up to the teacher again.
“You wanted to talk, Ms.?”
“Yes. I am incredibly concerned about your performance this year.” She was looking at Gavin with a piercing gaze. “You are consistently late, and you either fail or just barely pass your tests. You don't engage during the lessons, and you always look tired.”
He didn’t really have anything to say. All of that was true. Maybe she expected some protest, or any other reaction from Gavin. But he just hung his head. He felt horrible. Humiliated.
“There might be something we can do,” Ms. Johnson said, her voice softening ever so slightly. That made Gavin snap his head back up. A hint of concern appeared on the teacher’s face.
She continued.
“I am aware of your training schedule, and while I believe your education should come first, I understand that your athletic career is very important to you.” Was it really? “I may have someone who can help you.”
“Someone who can help me? What do you mean?” How could anyone help him? With what?? Changing his parents’ minds about his schedule? That wouldn’t happen in a million years.
“I have a student in the Honor Society who is looking for an opportunity to up his volunteer hours. This is a requirement for members, you see. He might be able to help tutor you.”
Gavin was speechless. He expected a few things to happen when she asked to speak to him. Detention, being failed on the test on the spot, a meeting with the principal. But not this. Not concern. Not help .
“Tutor me…what?” As if he wasn't confused enough already (he was).“I mean…,” that would be really helpful, he wanted to continue. But it was impossible to squeeze anything into his busy schedule.
“I don’t have the time. If I had, I would study myself,” Gavin protested. That wasn’t a lie. While history wasn’t among his favourite subjects, failing test after test was humiliating. He wasn’t dumb. He was just too phcking busy.
“I hope to change that,” she said with a reassuring almost-smile. Legends said she’d never smiled at a student. Some said she couldn’t even smile. But this very much looked like somewhat of a smile to Gavin.
“I’m not the only teacher to notice that your performance has been going down.” Of course not, it was impossible to not see it. “I am planning on organizing a meeting with your parents and coach, and some of your teachers, because if you continue down this line, you might not be able to get a diploma.”
Blood ran cold in his veins. He hadn’t exactly told his parents about his failing grades, tho they could have realised that it was physically impossible to excel in both gymnastics and school, with the crazy schedule his club –or rather, his coach– dictated.
But actually having them confronted with the situation was terrifying for Gavin. What if they decided to pull him out of school? He already had barely any social life as it was. Losing the one friend he managed to keep was a horrible thought. He didn’t want to disappoint his parents, that wasn’t an option. He had to keep this a secret from them, and fix things himself.
“No, you cannot let them know!” That came out louder, harsher and more panicked than he expected. Realising he might have just pissed off the only person willing to help him out, he quickly drew back. “I’m sorry,” he added sheepishly, as he looked down at the floor, embarrassed.
Ms. Johnson was taken aback by the sudden outburst. Something like this was sure to anger her, she didn’t take kindly to students raising their voices with her. But for some reason, she replied with a soft voice.
“Don’t worry, I just want to ask them to leave a bit more time for you after your classes each day, so that you can have regular tutoring.”
“Please don’t tell them about my grades,” Gavin pleaded, voice low and shaky. “I agree to the tutoring, but please, they can’t know about it!”
He knew he was trapped. If he didn’t agree to this, his academic failings would get exposed to his parents, which would certainly piss them off, and could result in him being pulled out of school. On the other hand, agreeing to the tutoring would mean him having to put in more time, energy and effort–none of which he had much of. But this was still the safer option.
He was looking at the teacher with pleading eyes. She gave Gavin a reassuring nod.
“Very well. I am sure Mr. Anderson will agree to tutor you. In exchange, I will refrain from sharing my concerns with your parents regarding your grades.”
Mr. Anderson? That could only be one person, since the rest of them are not in the school anymore.
The Andersons were a famous family of police officials. The father was the lieutenant in the nearest precinct, a well respected and decorated cop. The two eldest, the twins, graduated years ago, before Gavin started high school, but they still had a name in Corktown High.
They were the popular kids during their time there. Tina was especially fond of them, tho she hadn’t met either of them. Connor, the eldest, was a pleasant, polite, everybody’s friend type of guy, or so Gavin had heard. He excelled in his studies, had a large group of friends, and an even larger following he shared with his twin brother.
The other one, Sixty, as everyone called him, was a menace. Hated by teachers, loved by students. His exploits had reached legend status over the years. They were probably working at the precinct by now, shooting for a promotion to detective or something.
Only the youngest was still in school. He was in Gavin’s year group, but they never spoke to each other. No-one really did to Gavin, so that wasn’t out of order. This guy–Coban? Conan?–was also a loner.
Despite his twin brothers’ fame, he was a shy, quiet kid, always in the background, never bothering anyone. His teachers sang praises of him, but that wasn't enough to make him cool in the eyes of his peers.
He was mostly left alone, as far as Gavin was aware. The guy didn’t seem to look for others’ attention or company. Most ignored him, some admired him from a distance. He didn’t pursue his brothers’ fame, but he was an Anderson, and that came with respect.
Gavin didn't doubt the guy's smart. He was clearly gifted. No, he doubted himself. He had been lagging behind in pretty much all subjects –after all, he had been doing gymnastics since he was a toddler. His schedule never gave too much time for academics.
He had a lot to catch up on, and he didn’t know if he could trust himself with achieving actual improvement.
He nodded to the teacher's words anyway.
“Wonderful. I will talk to him today. I am sure he will agree to this,” Ms. Johnson said, with a hint of a reassuring smile.
“Thank you Ms.”
“And I will arrange a meeting with your parents to address your constant lateness, instead of your grades. I will tell them that you will be in detention for an hour every day after your classes, for the next 4 weeks. I will have a study room booked in the library for you and Mr. Anderson.”
Blaming it on lateness, then. That sounded much better in Gavin’s opinion. He wasn’t the one who scheduled training in the mornings, his parents could only blame themselves.
There was still the risk of him being pulled out of school, but he was fairly confident that this was the better argument to go with. It was off season anyway, he shouldn’t be training this much, but he couldn’t convince his folks on his own.
“Thank you Ms.”
“Of course, Mr. Reed. Despite popular belief, teachers are not out to “get you”, as the youth would say. My colleagues and I want all of you to succeed in life. And if we need to step in for that to happen, then we step in,” she affirmed, with a reassuring full smile.
There was no malice behind her words, Gavin realized. So he replied with a smile of his own. “When will the detention start?”
“It depends on when I can arrange a meeting with your parents, and when Mr. Anderson can commit to it. Hopefully from next Monday. I will let you know.”
“Okay Ms. Thank you Ms.”
“See you tomorrow, Gavin.”
He took his leave, still not fully comprehending what just happened. One of the most feared teachers in all of Corktown High just lent him a helping hand. She agreed to lie – no, withhold information from his parents. And promised to organize tutoring for him. This must be his birthday.
He was walking down the hallway, still lost in his thoughts, when someone bumped into him from the side and took his arm.
“Yo, Gav. You look like you just saw a ghost. You okay?” Tina. It was just Tina. Of course, who else would just come up to him to talk?
“Yeah, something like that.”
“You’ve got to tell me all about it,” she teased, with her signature bright smile.
“Alright, but not here. Somewhere private,” Gavin mumbled, glancing warily at the group of jocks passing by them.
He led the girl to an empty corner at the end of the hallway. Most of the students had left for the cafeteria already. He knew this was a secret, but he had to tell someone. And the only person he could talk to was right here with him.
“Okay so…Ms. Johnson wanted to talk to me after the test.”
“Oh shit, the test! I’m sorry Gav, I completely forgot about it! I wanted to make you cheat sheets,” she explained, deflated.
“Ti, I’m not your responsibility. It’s okay.”
“But you are! I made you my responsibility!”
“Well, there will be no need for that now. I’ll be getting regular tutoring.”
“What?! From who? Ms. Johnson?”
“Phcking hell no! It’s the Anderson kid. The genius.”
“Oh my GOD! Gav, you’re getting private lessons from an Anderson ?!”
“Keep your voice down! Yes, she said something about the Honor Society, and volunteer hours, and she was pretty certain he would agree to it.”
Eyes going wide, Tina squeaked with excitement. “Gav, you’ve got to introduce me to him!” She couldn’t help herself, she idolized the cop family. Gavin knew why: they were her high school superstars.
“It’s not like we will be friends or anything. It’s just some tutoring so that I don’t fail all of my classes.”
“No, Gav, you don’t understand the opportunity ,” Tina was about to start her propaganda talk, but Gavin wanted none of it. He’d heard enough Anderson fangirling.
He should have expected this reaction from his friend. Ever since they started high school and she learned about The Legend of the Andersons™, she was hooked on the lore. Being the mischievous gremlin that she was, Tina immediately felt kinship with Sixty, singing praises of his exploits to anyone who even remotely looked interested. Sometimes even if they didn’t.
Gavin understood her enthusiasm. He just wasn’t really all that starstruck by them. Definitely not to the point of freaking out over having personal tutoring lessons with one of them. He was more focused on his personal situation, and wasn’t planning on taking this any further than a professional relationship with the youngest Anderson.
“There’s no opportunity Ti. I’m not interested in becoming friends with the guy.”
“But Gaviiiiiii, at least introduce meeeee,” she whined, in that cringe high-pitched voice she knew Gavin hated.
“Cut it Ti, it's not gonna happen”
“Alright, fine,” she conceded, rolling her eyes, annoyed and bratty. “But tell me what he is like, at the very least.”
“Will you stop nagging me about him if I do?”
She was clearly waiting for Gavin to take that back. That wasn’t gonna happen. “You’re impossible. Okay, I promise,” she huffed, defeated. “When is your first lesson?”
“Dunno yet. Ms. Johnson said hopefully next Monday but she needs to talk to my parents.”
“Ooo sheesh…”
“Yeah, her big idea is that I will be getting detention for being late in the mornings.”
“And your parents will just eat that up and go along with it?”
“I phckin hope so.”
Tina’s eyebrows raised in disbelief. She had only met Gavin’s parents a few times, but she had enough second hand information about them to worry about their reaction. Gavin felt touched by his friend’s care.
“Well, I’ll have you in my prayers tonight,” Tina said sarcastically, but he knew what she meant by it. She always rooted for him.
“Thanks, I will need that” he laughed.
The hallway was now empty, with only the two of them hiding in the corner. Gavin cherished moments like this, when he could be himself and connect with someone. Thanks to his brutal schedule, he barely had the time, let alone the energy to chill with his best friend.
They met face to face in school during break daily, but they spent most of their time together on their phones, past their bedtimes, texting each other all sorts of stuff. Well, mostly Tina, she actually had things going on in her life. Gavin envied her for that but not in a malicious way. He was happy for her, but wished he too had a life outside of gymnastics.
But the dreaded sound of the bell cut their convo short once more. The hallway began to fill with students again, hurrying to their next classes, one after the other, like ants. Gavin quickly said goodbye to his best friend before the crowd swallowed her.
The rest of his day went relatively well. As in, there were no more surprise tests and teachers telling him off. He chatted to Tina a few more times, then it was time for him to rush to the gym once again. As if his morning workouts weren't enough.
X X X
The parent-teacher meeting took place later that week. Not that Gavin was given a heads up, or anything. The only reason he learned about it was because he got home that day to find his parents angrily discussing it.
They clearly weren't happy about the detention, mentioning multiple times how this would negatively affect Gavin’s athletic career, how “every teacher thinks their subject is the most important above all”, how “she has no idea how hard it is to work for one’s future”.
Gavin decided to let them rant, happy he wasn’t in their focus at all. He was glad to discover that Ms. Johnson's plan worked, he didn’t get any of the blame. No, his parents were solely focused on verbally dragging his teacher through the mud for putting Gavin’s future at risk.
They never cared about his grades anyway, so that wasn’t surprising. He always got by in school one way or another. It’d only gotten really bad since his cousin wasn’t around to help him out. He’d wondered why his parents never bothered with finding a replacement.
He also wondered what they’d say if they actually knew just how bad he’d been doing.
Hopefully he’d never have to know that.
For now, he could go to bed knowing that tomorrow things might just change for the better.