you'll be missed [hannah]

[Ashton Romero]

The last of the students had filed out maybe twenty minutes prior. Though, that didn't quite mark the end of the day for him. He tended to stick around for a couple of hours after--both for students to wander in if they needed anything and to get a head start on his lesson plans and all of the grading that he would rather not take home. The more he did there, the better. Too many times had something gone to the wayside at home only for him to get back to class to students glaring him down for their graded exams. Funny how they were so willing to let him forget the exam, but so pushy to get their grades. There were times that he could be a little bit forgetful and chaotic. He worked well in a haphazard environment and it showed by the way that his desk was a mix of papers, books and random figurines that somehow ended up on his desk throughout the course of the year. But, it didn't change that he was good at what he did and he made damn sure to stay on top of his teaching habits. His kids weren't behind on their curriculum. And although his class had a loose structure, it seemed to work. He let the kids do as much as he did, under the pretense that they did their work. And honestly, the mutual respect thing worked for the majority. When it didn't, he came down on the particular students that couldn't responsibly deal with freedom.

At the current, Ashton was weeding through papers written in Spanish. Some of it was impressive, whereas others had even him struggling a little to figure out what the student was trying to say. His computer quietly blared music; careful not to be heard outside of the door, but at the same time, enough so that he could have the background noise to work quickly. He didn't want to rouse attention--especially not when there was a lurking principal somewhere outside that he didn't feel like crossing. The man might have been three feet tall, but he was intimidating. He wasn't sure there was any member of staff that thought different. Hell, he wasn't sure there was anyone in the school that wasn't a little intimidated by him. But, who was he to make that generalization? Staring at the paper a moment, it took all of his energy not to scribble a bold, red 'what the fuck?' across the page. Instead, he resumed professionalism and critiqued the paper.

[Deleted]

Nobody knew, though hard they might try, how desperately Hannah wanted to be normal again. She was tired of being plagued by nightmares, tired of being afraid no matter where she was, unless she was with Chance or Aidan. She wanted to be able to walk these hallways and stare Jack in the face and let him know that he would never truly destroy her. At the same time, Hannah wanted to be more open to trying new things. She didn't want to go back to being the bitch that everybody hated and nobody cared about. She wanted to have friends and go to malls and yes, proms. So when the prom tickets went on sale, almost a month before the event was to take place, she took some money from what she had been saving all year and took it to school to buy two tickets. Sure, Derek was gone, but that didn't mean that she couldn't go, right? She would ask Chance to go if she couldn't get a date. After school let out, Hannah had finished a spanish paper that was late because she was still making up work from when she was in the hospital. She was actually in a good mood today. She figured she'd buy the tickets then drop her paper off at Mr. Romero's classroom.

When she went to buy the tickets, though, she was immediately sent to Mr. Snyder's office. She sat, waiting for him, and when he finally called her in the office, she folded her arms and sat in front of his desk. "I didn't do anything," she informed him. "Buying prom tickets isn't a fucking crime."

"I didn't take you as the type of girl to want to go to the prom," he said, surprised.

"Yeah? Well, when I first met you, I didn't take you as a douche. Guess we were both wrong about each other."

His eyes narrowed. "Well, that's just too bad for you."

Hannah shook her head. "You can't tell me I can't go to prom."

"Actually, I can. Prom is for passing students only."

"What the fuck are you talking about? I'm in grade twelve."

"That's true, and next year that's exactly what you'll be. I knew that having you here was a waste of space. You weren't even here enough to graduate."

Hannah swallowed. "But...I'm making up the work. I just finished with Spanish, and--"

"it doesn't matter, Del Rossi. Too many absences. You're not getting that diploma."

Hannah shook her head and stood up. "Fine. I quit." And with that, she walked out of his office, fighting tears. She stared at the paper in her hand. She had worked her ass off for that paper. And now it didn't even matter if he got it or not. But for some reason, she wanted to give it to him, anyway. So, after punching a locker, she went to his classroom and opened it, listening to the music for just a moment before she slammed the paper down on his desk.

"There. Sixteen hours' work, for all the fucking good it'll do me. Oh, and don't expect to see me in class ever again. I quit. I'm done with this stupid school." Why was she telling him this? Because this was her favorite teacher. Because for some reason, she wasn't afraid of him like she was everyone else outside her family. So she felt like he had a right to know. Course, she had to tell her parents she quit, too. She wasn't sure how they were going to take it. But at the moment, she didn't care. She was furious and upset at the same time. Ready to both cry and kick someone's ass. She wished she could kick Snyder's ass. But he'd probably put her in prison or something.