Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The alarm on Jennifer Honey’s nightstand went off with a loud, shrill buzzing, jolting the young teacher awake. She reached out a hand to turn it off, peering groggily at the clock. 7:00AM. It was the first day of a new school year, and she needed to be up and in early. Jenny rubbed her eyes, she couldn’t help but feel like she’d just been pulled free from a nightmare. What had it been about? The details seemed to be seeping away from her conscious mind.

Jenny pulled back the covers, stepped into her slippers and padded over to her wardrobe, where a brightly colored skirt and matching top were waiting. Light footsteps could be heard making their way down the hall. A small fist rapped against Jenny’s bedroom door, and it opened to reveal Matilda, already dressed.

“Morning Jenny.” The little girl walked over to her adoptive mother and swung her arms round her middle.

“Good morning, Matilda.” Jenny smiled, smoothing down the girl’s brown hair and planting a kiss on the top of her head.

“I’ll be down in a moment, and make you some breakfast, how does that sound?” She offered, glowing as she looked down at Matilda.

The little girl nodded enthusiastically.

“That sounds amazing.”

Miss Honey quickly whipped up some pancakes, a first day treat. She poured Matilda a glass of orange juice, and brought it over. The intelligent young girl was already flicking through the syllabus for one of her science classes.

“I wish I could come and have lunch down at Crunchem Elementary, I never get to see you or Lavender anymore.”

Jenny offered her a selection of honey, lemon juice and sugar to go with her pancakes, mulling over her words.

“I could always speak with the teachers, I’m sure they wouldn’t mind if you came and ate in our canteen, would you prefer that?” The young woman sat down to her own portion, sprinkling just a small ration of sugar, old habits.

Matilda was generous with the lemon juice over her own plate.

“Yes please.” She said brightly. “I would go back to Crunchem High ready for first afternoon period.”

Jenny smiled.

“It would be lovely to see you there again, I think Lavender’s really missed you.”

The pair quickly hurried on with their breakfast, knowing they’d have to leave soon. Miss Honey, as Headteacher, had to be in early anyway, and she always made sure to walk to the High School with Matilda first.

They left in plenty of time, Miss Honey with a duffle bag full of untouched workbooks, candies and crayons, and Matilda with a backpack of books and notepads. The air was still warm in the pre-autumnal weather, and the greenery made for a pleasant walk.

Jenny reluctantly left Matilda at the entrance to Crunchem High, wrapping her arms round her and hugging tightly. Deep down she worried about her adoptive daughter in this older school, about whether or not the older children were treating her okay, Jenny feared that she couldn’t protect her over here. But then again, hadn’t it always been the other way round.

“Have a wonderful day, I love you.” Miss Honey kissed her on the cheek.

“I love you too. Bye!” Matilda smiled, taking off into the building to do some early morning library research.

Jenny turned and headed towards her elementary school. Although she was technically Headmistress of both, her deputy Headmistress, Mrs Brown ran the upper school. Miss Honey wasn’t fully confident of her abilities to lead the older children, and felt that she was better with the lower school. On multiple occasions she had offered to split the position in two, and Mrs Brown be Headmistress of Crunchem High in her own right, but the older teacher had rejected the idea.

Reaching the end of the corridor, Jenny noticed that the door to her office was wide open. Her pace quickened, spurred on by curiosity. Maybe the janitor left it open, or Mrs Brown wanted to speak to her before assembly.

At the doorway, Miss Honey stopped to find a tall figure with long dark hair inspecting the photos on her office wall. The woman was dressed in dark clothes, a pant suit with high leather boots. Sensing another presence, the brunette turned to face Jenny.

“Miss Honey, I remember. It’s nice to meet you properly.” The woman closed the distance between them in a few short strides, holding out her hand for Jenny to shake. Still a bit lost, but upholding politesse, the young teacher brought her hand up to meet the other woman’s.

“We met very briefly after my interview with Lisa.” The woman had a firm hand shake, and she held onto Jenny’s hand just a little bit longer than normal.

“Honey. That’s a nice name, it suits you.” She let her gaze lower a little to the young teacher’s flowery shirt, and then back up to meet her eyes.

“I’m Dr Alison Carter, the new 5th grade teacher.” The brunette finished, giving a hint of a smirk at Miss Honey’s speechless expression.

“I-it’s great to meet you properly too, Dr Carter. I think I do remember now, yes. Sorry.” Jenny managed, giving the other teacher a shy smile. Alison was undeniably beautiful, and the petite woman found herself in awe of the confidence she exuded.

“Would you like some coffee? We have some in the teacher’s lounge, and I could introduce you to everyone?” Jenny regained some control, berating herself for not sounding more professional and ‘Headmistress-like’. 

Alison nodded, smiling.

“That would be great.”

There were only three other members of staff in the small room Jenny had repurposed as a faculty lounge. It was something that had never existed back in Trunchbull’s era, but Miss Honey felt it was important for them to have somewhere to go and make a coffee, or sit down for a minute. Especially with her own office being so spacious.

Dr Carter was welcomed very warmly into the fray. Mr Cole, the 3rd grade teacher, seemed particularly taken with her. Soon they were both discussing how their college experiences, and it turned out Alison had a PHD, had led them to teaching elementary. Jenny stood and listened attentively. Sometimes she worried that her colleagues felt that she wasn’t qualified enough for her position.                     

“How would you like your coffee?” Miss Honey asked at a suitable pause in conversation.

“Black, please. With one sugar.” Alison smiled.

“Would you like one, Mr Cole?” Jenny offered, not wanting him to feel excluded.

“Yes please, Jenny. Milk and sugar for me, thanks.” He gave her an appreciative smile, and turned his attention back to Dr Carter, asking more about her previous teaching positions. Miss Honey didn’t blame him. She headed over to the unit and poured some boiling water into the coffee filter, slowly pressing the top down until it reached the bottom.

The young teacher headed back over to the others with the two cups. Dr Carter and Mr Cole both thanked her as they each took theirs.

“So, what’s first on the agenda today?” Alison took a sip of her coffee, glancing between the two teachers. Jenny took the opportunity to contribute to the conversation.

“In about ten minutes we’ll all have a short assembly, and then each grade will go with their teacher to their classrooms and start with introductions and games.” She explained, clasping her hands together in front of her body like she sometimes did in front of the blackboard.

“I should go and set up my classroom, the chairs are probably still on the table from summer vacation cleaning.” Mr Cole took a deep gulp of his coffee. He was a quiet, thin man with grey hair. He’d been at Crunchem Hall throughout Agatha Trunchbull’s reign of terror, so he maintained a soft feeling of pity for Miss Honey.

“Nice to meet you Dr Alison, please forgive me your family name has escape me-“

“Carter.”

“-Carter, yes. I hope we can talk more, I would love to hear about your thesis. See you later, Jenny. Good luck with the assembly.”

Mr Cole’s departure left the two of them in silence. Miss Honey found herself fiddling with the sleeves of her shirt.

“So, Jennifer, can I call you Jennifer? Do you have time to show me which classroom is mine?” Dr Carter inquired, one hand on her hip and the other bringing the cup to her lips.

“Y-yes of course.” Jenny stuttered slightly. “I’ll show you on the way.” No one ever called her Jennifer. Only professionals at the Doctor’s or… Her Aunt used to when she was truly angry.

Alison finished the remnants of her drink, placed it on the side unit, and followed the petite teacher out of the lounge and into the hallway.

Miss Honey led her to a dark green wooden door.

“The door should be unlocked..” She said softly, testing the handle. Fortunately, it was. Jenny pushed the door open and held it for her new colleague.

Dr Carter smiled at the gesture and walked through. The room was nice and spacious, with large windows and plenty of display boards ready to be decorated. It was clear that the school was not well off by any stretch, but that the teachers were doing their best to make it a nice learning environment.

Jenny moved to the desk and brought the chair off the table, back down to the floor. The rest were all propped up on the students’ desks too, the young teacher started lifting them down. She hoped Dr Carter didn’t think she was disorganized for not having it fully ready.

“I’ll make sure we get you a proper sign for the door with your name on it.” Miss Honey offered, making her way down the line of small tables.

“That’s great.” Alison was wandering around the room, taking in all the little details. She turned to watch the other teacher carefully moving the chairs down, folding her arms and leaning back against a storage cupboard.

“So, do you still teach?”

“I- Yes, yes I do… I teach kindergarten Monday, Friday and Wednesday afternoons.” Jenny said quietly, finishing the last row. The hesitant teacher mirrored Dr Carter and pressed the back of her legs against the table closest to her. A comfortable silence washed over them. Jenny wasn’t sure what to say, but she settled on:

“Will the classroom be okay for you? If you need anything, please just let me know.”

“It’ll be perfect. I’m sure I can make it my own. Thank you.” Alison’s eyes briefly glanced to the front of the room, she could already picture a new layout and the extra decor that she would bring.

“-I should go and get ready to lead the children in for assembly.. 5th grade will be sat at the back of the hall, and after assembly we will make sure everyone is in the right grade and follows the right teacher. Please don’t hesitate to come and find me if I can help with anything, kindergarten is on the other side of the building, but if you just follow the corridor round it’s easy to find.” Miss Honey smiled weakly, pushing a chair near her further under the table and heading to the door.

“See you in assembly, Jennifer.”

Chapter Text

The morning so far had been a success. Jenny had been nervous to lead assembly, she always was, but once she laid eyes on the smiling faces looking up at her, she had all the strength in the world. After a brief talk and the teachers introducing themselves, Miss Honey ushered the youngest group of students to her classroom and started the yearly task of learning everyone’s names.

It had been a fun few hours, she had helped the children draw out their names and decorate them to stick on the table in front of them. Jenny wouldn’t start trying properly to gauge their level until the afternoon, when they felt more comfortable and settled in.

At lunchtime, she walked with her kindergarten to the canteen and left them under the supervision of Mr Cole, briefly, whilst she fetched her own hot school dinner. Miss Honey sat down with her little pupils as they tucked into their packed lunches, and felt the familiar gratitude of being able to enjoy her meal instead of forcing as much down as possible, like she used to when it was her one meal of the day.

Jenny made a mental note to speak to Mrs Brown and a few other teachers about Matilda coming down to Elementary for lunch. She settled on sorting that after school. Miss Honey spent the duration of her lunch listening eagerly as her new students talked to her. It warmed her heart to know that they felt comfortable with her. After eating, she encouraged them out onto the playground for some fresh air.

The afternoon passed equally smoothly, a little bit of math and some spelling, and her kindergarten students were able to test the waters with some exercises in the workbook Miss Honey had put together. In-between circulating around the classroom, Jenny started work on a short note to Mrs Cooper, who would be taking them the next day.

When it reached home-time, Miss Honey made sure that all the children had their coats and lunchboxes, and led her kindergarten class out to the school gates to be picked up by their parents. She was lucky that the youngest grade finished earlier, it meant she could still accompany them to the gates of Crunchem Hall without stressing about catching the other teachers she needed to speak to before they left.

Jenny stood holding the hand of a nervous little girl, whose hands were so small that they only grasped around two of Miss Honey’s fingers, until the apologetic and slow figure of her grandfather appeared and she ran to cling onto him. He spoke a few words in a regretful tone, and the young teacher reassured him with a smile that it was no trouble at all. She waved them both goodbye, and headed back to her classroom to tidy up.

Miss Honey finished scribing her brief note for Mrs Cooper, detailing what the children had done, how they had been, and included words of encouragement and warm wishes for the new academic year. She knew her fellow Kindergarten professor held much more teaching experience than she did, but Jenny still wanted to do what she could to ensure Mrs Cooper had an excellent start to the year.

With the teacher’s desk left in an orderly fashion, the young woman quickly swept under the children’s tables and pulled in the small chairs. She finished her tidying and headed to the grand office she’d inherited with her position.

Jenny dropped her classroom bag down on the desk chair, noting the extensive pile of paperwork that had grown dramatically over the course of the day. She would be able to sit down and work through it tomorrow. Maybe it would even be worth making a start this evening. Miss Honey siphoned a little off the pile and added it to a folder in her bag.

The bell to signal the end of the school day rang as Jenny was just closing the office door behind her. She made her way through the sudden rush of children emerging from their classrooms, and headed towards Lavender’s to speak with Miss Rothberg.

Miss Honey rapped her fist lightly against the door, pushing it open once her colleague looked up at the sound and encouraged her inside.

“Hi Jenny, how can I help?”

“Sorry to bother you, I hope you’ve had a good first day with your grade. I came to ask- Matilda said this morning she would love to come and eat lunch down here with Lavender and her friends for a few days a week. Would that be alright with you?” Jenny inquired, reflecting that it shouldn’t be too much trouble, after all, the older children required much less lunchtime supervision than her kindergarten.

“Yes of course! That’s an excellent idea! They’ll love that.” Miss Rothberg sounded enthusiastic, even if she was preoccupied with loading her arms up with bags.

“Can I help you with those-”

“Don’t worry, I’ve got them.” The older woman picked up her thermos and car keys.

Miss Rothberg strode over and paused briefly when she reached the petite teacher, halfway to the door.

“Thanks though, Jenny. I’ve got to go pick up our Rottweiler from the vets, see you tomorrow.” She gave her a warm smile as she spoke, and then left Jenny alone in the classroom.

Miss Honey followed in her steps, closing the door gently behind her. She padded softly down the corridor and out through the main entrance, with the last flow of stragglers heading to meet their guardians.

“Goodbye Miss Honey!” A little girl called out, waving at her from beside her father. Jenny smiled and gave her a little wave.

“Goodbye, I hope you’ve had a good day.” The young teacher recognised her from kindergarten a year or two ago.

Miss Honey walked through the main gates, and headed up towards Crunchem High. She wanted to get there before their classes finished, and speak to Mrs Brown before collecting Matilda.

If Jenny had spared a glance across to the parking lot, she would have seen the seated figure of Dr Alison Carter watching her through the windshield of her car.

Instead, the young woman wandered blissfully up the path to the older school. She was greeted by a teacher standing near the main door. Jenny smiled and said hello back. She made her way inside and to Mrs Brown’s office, hopeful that her deputy head would be inside.

“Come in!” Her fellow teacher was indeed still there, and quick to respond to her knocking.

“Hi Lisa-” Jenny had been corrected too many times to call her Mrs Brown.

“Jenny! Come and have a seat, how has it been? Any kindergarten have to go home early?” The kindly brown-haired woman gestured for Miss Honey to take a seat in the chair at the other side of her desk.

“N-no actually, they all made it through-” She did as Mrs Brown suggested, setting herself down on the red fabric of the chair.

“Has the new teacher settled in okay?” Jenny felt herself react to the mention of her, she sat up straighter and felt her pulse quicken slightly. The new teacher had most certainly made an impression.

“Dr Carter- Yes, I spoke to her this morning and showed her to her classroom. She seemed pleased with it.”

“Excellent! We’re so lucky to have her with us. I couldn’t believe it when I read her file before the interview, she’s totally over-qualified, she could get a job as a college professor no trouble.”

Jenny stared at her colleague, intrigued. She’d heard Dr Carter mention her PHD but she had no idea. She mused that there must be a copy of this file in her office, and contemplated whether or not she should go and look tomorrow.

“It’s fantastic for us, what a selling point! A licensed psychologist working here with us. 5th grade are so lucky… Sorry Jenny, you didn’t come here to listen to me babble on.” Lisa looked to the young Headmistress with warm eyes.

“Oh, I wanted to ask you if Matilda could come down for lunch at the elementary, so she could spend some time with Lavender and her old grade?” Miss Honey asked in her usual tentative tone.

“Yes, yes absolutely! You don’t need to ask my permission, dear. I’ll speak to her homeroom teacher tomorrow morning.” Lisa finished with a smile. She too had been at Crunchem for several years and similarly to Mr Cole, felt sorry for Miss Honey. The young woman was Headmistress and yet always sought permission from the other teachers over things. Not that they criticized her for it, they could more than understand her lack of confidence after living under the Trunchbull’s thumb most of her life.

“Thank you, I appreciate it.” Jenny made to stand up, pulling the cloth duffle bag over her shoulder.  “I’ll let you finish what you’re doing and get home in good time.”

“Okay, Jenny. Take care, come and talk to me any time, okay?” Lisa stood with her, looking as though she wanted to place a comforting hand on the young woman’s arm, but resisted.

Jenny nodded and thanked her, leaving Mrs Brown’s office and heading back towards the entrance so she could wait for Matilda.

She didn’t have to wait long, once by the side of the building, the school bell rang and students started to empty out of their classrooms.

Miss Honey’s eyes trailed across the groups of children, searching for the tell tale features of her adoptive daughter. A handful of high schoolers recognized her in passing, and stopped to say hello. Jenny greeted them with a smile. It didn’t seem possible that she had been teaching so long now that some of her students were in the first few years of Crunchem High.

At last, the figure of a young girl became visible, the height difference a stark contrast, setting her apart from her peers. Jenny could almost see the cogs of recognition turning in her little protégé’s mind, the way Matilda’s eyes lit up at the familiarity of Miss Honey’s shoulder-length hair and floral apparel.

“Jenny!” The dark-haired girl ran over, and swung her arms around her guardian’s slender waist.

The young teacher was almost knocked over by the force of it, she enveloped her arms around Matilda and held her close. At time like this, Jenny felt like the luckiest person in the whole world.

“How was your first day, sweetheart?” She asked gently as Matilda let go.

“Oh it was wonderful! I had math and science!” They turned to walk home. Jenny wanted to reach out and take Matilda’s hand, but she didn’t want to embarrass her in case the older children made fun of it.

“My teacher is going to help me look at different scholarships for college, he said first we need to think about which area I would like to study, because college isn’t like school..” She looked up to her old teacher, eyes full of excitement.

Jenny nodded along, eyebrows furrowing a little at the mention of scholarships and applying for college so soon. She would never hold Matilda back from exploring the depths of her mental capabilities, but it all had to be balanced with her age. It wouldn’t be right for her to leave home so young. Almost as if sensing Miss Honey’s concern, Matilda added:

“It’s not for right now, Mr Snicket just wants me to start thinking about it..” A brief silence.

"I spoke to Mrs Brown and the other teachers, they're happy for you to come and have lunch with us." The young woman wasn't trying to sidestep the subject, she would address it properly later. The good news seemed to raise the mood well.

"Yay! I'll come down tomorrow." 

Miss Honey's mind wandered to tomorrow, to all the work that awaited her in her office. Still, it was good to be back. Suddenly, her rogue idea of searching for Dr Carter's interview file was nagging at her. 

“What’s for dinner?” The little girl’s voice broke through Jenny’s thoughts.

“Grilled fish, does that sound good?” The young woman tilted her head down, readjusting the fabric bag straps over her shoulder.

“Oh yes! I’m so hungry I can’t wait!” Matilda was skipping ahead excitedly.

“Would you like me to make you a snack when we get home?” Something small wouldn’t hurt, they could always have their dinner a bit later.

“Yes please!” She slowed down and started walking beside Miss Honey once again.

“So, what else did you do in class today?

The two of them wandered home happily, Matilda recounting each of her classes, the different teachers and her library research, before asking Jenny about her day.

All in all, it seemed it had been a good first day for both of them.

Chapter Text

The wind was blowing fiercely the next morning, as Jennifer Honey walked Matilda up to Crunchem High, making sure her adoptive daughter’s jacket was zipped up enough to protect her.

“Just walk down and join Lavender’s class later, okay?” Jenny held the young girl close as Matilda gave her a parting hug. Miss Honey leant down and kissed her on the forehead as she let go.

“See you at lunch!” Matilda raced off, no doubt eager to make the most of her time in the library before homeroom.

Jenny lingered, watching her go, and then headed down to the Elementary School.

Her footsteps padded softly against the floor of the empty hallway. Her office came into view, the door decidedly closed. Jenny couldn’t help but wonder if Dr Carter could be in there waiting for her once again. She opened the door to a dark and empty room.

Miss Honey didn’t like having things locked. It drew her back to the past, back to unwanted memories; the front door locked, being locked in the cellar or the cupboard, the office door locked when her Aunt wanted a quiet word with her. Jenny kept things under lock and key as little as possible. The Headmistress’ office was no exception.

Miss Honey turned the lights on and unloaded the contents of her duffle bag onto her desk. She made a new pile out of the completed work, and sat down to start work on the remaining pile taking prime place in front of her.

Jenny was confident it wouldn’t take her too long. Most of the paperwork was just signing off important letters, responding to the concerns of parents or the usual governing bureaucracy.

As the young teacher was making a strong start, shifting paperwork that needed to be forwarded on into another heap, the footfall outside of her open office door became more noticeable. Silent empty corridors of the early morning gave way to the arrival of staff and the odd student scurrying along to delivery late homework or reclaim a forgotten backpack.

A knock sounded against the open rich oak door. Jenny liked to leave it at least ajar, so that colleagues or children would know she was inside, and felt that they were welcome to approach and speak to her.

Glancing up from her paperwork, Miss Honey recognized the figure of Miss Anderson, the older but relatively new 2nd grade teacher.

“Hi Miss Anderson, please come in.”  Jenny stood to her feet and fetched a chair from against the wall, carrying it over to other side of her desk so it mirrored Mrs Brown’s set-up.

“Good morning, just popped in to say hello. It looks like you have a lot of admin on your hands.” Sadie Anderson was a relatively small, maybe a little taller than Jenny, auburn-haired lady with gray streaks starting to breach the colour.

Sadie was an extrovert, she loved to talk and despite only obtaining her position at Crunchem Elementary a few short years ago, Miss Anderson knew everyone very well. The only exception to her insight was the sordid history of The Trunchbull. No one wanted to talk about what life had been like prior to Matilda’s heroism and Miss Honey’s promotion. Least of all Jenny.

“Oh yes, they really don’t go easy on us at the start of the year. Would you like to sit down?” She gestured towards the newly placed chair.

Sadie thanked her and settled down opposite Jenny, now returned to her place behind the desk.

“I remember when I was secretary to the Principal when I first started out, it’s madness- the need for a document just to say we’ve purchased stationary.. Maybe you should hire an Assistant Headteacher. Anyway that’s not why I came to see you.”

Miss Anderson gave Jenny one of her sly little looks, verging on a smile.

The young women tilted her head, a little puzzled and not sure what to expect from the older teacher.

“Is everything okay? Did grade two settle in well yesterday?” Jenny inquired in her quiet and slightly uncertain voice.

“Yes, yes, well I think some of them are missing Kindergarten. You and Meghan are very popular with the kids, you know- And it’s a big jump, suddenly all these different subjects and longer days…”

Sadie seemed to realize she was becoming wrapped up in her own tangent of thought. She sat up more and leant a little closer to Miss Honey’s desk.

“What do you think of Alison Carter?” The tone of Miss Anderson’s voice was reminiscent of that one individual in social circles, who is always in the know, about to share exciting new information amongst their vast crowd of friends.

“-Doctor Carter, I-I spoke to her yesterday when she arrived. She has an excellent reputation and impressive qualifications.” Jenny struggled to keep her voice even and unaffected. She had never been good at that.

Sadie gave her a look, as though taunting Miss Honey for her attempted professionalism.

“And what did you think, when you spoke to her?”

Miss Anderson wasn’t letting her off easy. She studied the young teacher intently, it made Jenny want to up and ask what this was all about.

“I thought she was very nice..” Miss Honey responded simply, folding her hands together on her lap and dropping eye contact for a brief moment.

“I had lunch with her yesterday.”

Jenny’s eyes darted back up at her words. Sadie had that gleam in her eyes again, like she was enjoying knowing an exciting little secret.

“I was headed to the canteen just after the normal rush. Alison was there, she seemed a bit unsure of it all so I showed her what’s what, we sat down, started talking…”

Miss Anderson scratched the back of her head.

“You’re right. She’s very intelligent, very worldly. Charming too. She was asking about you.”

Jenny’s lips parted slightly in surprise. She momentarily questioned if she’d heard her colleague correctly. It seemed impossible to Miss Honey that anyone would be in the slightest bit curious about her.

“She asked lots of questions, wanting to know things about you. She seemed very interested.” Sadie was smiling now, grinning like a mischievous cupid. Opposite her, the younger woman didn’t know what to say, she sat speechless and transfixed by Miss Anderson’s words.

“I think she likes you.”

Jenny felt her cheeks flush a raging scarlet. The thought of bringing a hand up to conceal it crossed her mind, but she knew there was no point. Part of her just wanted to crawl under the desk.

“You should talk to her.” Sadie continued, ignoring Miss Honey’s blushing,

“I think the two of you would make a lovely pair.” Miss Anderson smirked slightly, and sat back in her chair seeming positively enthused by the thought of playing matchmaker in her own workplace.

Jenny was still at a loss for words. The young woman fought to school her features, scolding herself for being drawn in and affected so easily. She wondered for a moment if this was some kind of nasty trick or prank between the other teachers. A dare, she speculated, that Dr Carter had roped Miss Anderson into, to give them all a bit of a laugh in the first week.

Yet Sadie’s warm and encouraging stare strayed far from that narrative.

“I- will say hello.. if I see her.” Miss Honey broke the silence. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and crossed her legs, trying to regain some normalcy, some professionalism.

Sadie glanced at the clock on the wall, she shuffled in her seat a little and then stood.

“I should get to class, my kids will start arriving soon.”

The older woman headed to the door, pausing in her tracks to face Jenny.

“Don’t forget what I said.” She gave Miss Honey a wink.

“I-I won’t.” The young teacher still struggled to formulate a response, but she forced herself to give the impression of an adult somewhat in control.

“Have a nice day, Miss Anderson.” Her voice levelled. Jenny had never been good in these situations, and imagined that she never would be. Miss Honey sat still, mind reeling, as her colleague left her office and headed down the hallway.

Her mind wandered back to the conversation with Mrs Brown the previous day, how Lisa had brought up Dr Carter too, and how she had considered searching for the recently hired teacher’s file.

Glancing up at the clock herself, Jenny noted that the bell would soon ring to signal the start of the school day, and she wanted to take Mrs Cooper a cup of coffee first thing. The petite woman stood from her desk, settling on having a quick look around for the file after making the hot drink.

Tucking her chair under, Miss Honey slid out of the Headmistress’ office, making her way through the building and into the faculty lounge. Several of the older children were already making their way to class, and some had started to line up next to their doors.

Jenny pushed the door open, and headed straight for the unit with the coffee filterer. Luckily there was still some left, it would only be a matter of fetching out a cup.

“Hello, Jennifer.”

The young teacher whirled round, her eyes falling on the very subject of her discussion with Miss Anderson. She took a moment to respond, asking herself if maybe she should have expected to run into her, fate always being funny like that.

“Dr Carter, I’m sorry I didn’t realize anyone else was in here.”

Alison was sat near the other side of the room, with full view across the space. Her long, dark hair was falling in waves down her shoulders, and she had donned a silky navy-colored blouse.

“Starting on the caffeine this morning?” Her voice was rich, and her tone casual. Though her eyes were trained firmly on the young teacher before her.

Jenny fumbled with the cup in her hand. She wished she could hold it steady.

“Oh- I-I was going to make a coffee for Mrs Cooper, she’s our part-time Kindergarten teacher… Would you like one?” Miss Honey’s soft voice seemed to dwindle even further, she tried to hold eye contact with Dr Carter’s fierce gaze, but found that she couldn’t.

“I'd love one.”

Jenny turned back to the unit, she placed the cup down on the side. There wouldn’t be enough coffee in the filter machine for both Alison and Mrs Cooper.

“Just black coffee?” The young woman asked tentatively, she felt mostly certain but wanted to check just in case.

“With a little sugar.”

Jenny nodded, fetching a second cup out of the cupboard. She poured the last full drink’s worth of coffee in, and added some sugar with one of the small spoons. Stirring gently, Miss Honey heard footsteps behind her as the taller woman approached. She turned around, cup in hand, and offered it up to Dr Carter.

The 5th grade teacher had moved close, close enough that the small of Jenny’s back was pressed against the edge of the unit. Alison plucked the drink out of her hands, and brought it up to taste a sip.

“Very nice.” Dr Carter stood still, the petite teacher before her paralyzed by the proximity and eye contact.

After what felt like eternity to Jenny, Alison turned and headed to the door with her coffee, pausing as she opened it.

“See you later, Jennifer.”

With that she disappeared down the corridor, leaving Miss Honey thoroughly confused. She stayed like that for a few minutes, back against the side, half-staring at the door. The bell rang and Jenny shook her head, coming to her senses. She reminded herself why she had come to the faculty lounge in the first place.

The young woman emptied out the used remnants of the coffee filterer contents and set about making a fresh batch. She squeezed down the top and poured Mrs Cooper’s coffee into the cup she had originally taken out.

Jenny added a splash of milk, and then headed out of the lounge and towards her shared classroom, carrying the hot drink. She would deliver her fellow Kindergarten teacher the coffee, and then hurry straight to the office to look for this file.

Chapter Text

The morning seemed to fly by. Her curiosity peaked by the new teacher, Jenny spent a good while sifting through the staff-related paperwork in the file cabinet. There were documents on most of the interviews Mrs Brown had conducted, Miss Anderson for instance. Copies of candidate application forms complete with hand-scribbled notes and photocopies of identification and qualifications. It didn’t look like anything new had been added around or since the time of Dr Carter’s employment, though.

When it became apparent she was not going to find what she was looking for, Miss Honey carefully packed the files back into the cabinet, and closed it up. She sat back down at her desk, feeling a little silly and nosey for having searched for it in the first place. Especially when her eyes fell upon how much paperwork was still sitting there waiting to be completed. Jenny settled herself down in the office chair and dived in. The start-of-year administration wasn’t showing any sign of slowing down, and Miss Honey was determined to keep on top of it.

By the time the bell rang to signal the start of lunch hour, the young woman had tackled through a considerable amount of work. The desk was covered with different piles, arranged according to where they needed to go next. Jenny felt quite pleased with herself at the significantly reduced number of papers occupying the still-to-do pile.

Miss Honey was about to pack up and go find Matilda, when someone knocked against the ajar door. It was Mrs Brown. The deputy Headmistress slipped through the doorway and into the office, holding a document box.

“Hi Jenny, thought I would pop down and give these to you. Files that belong to Elementary.”

Lisa placed the box down softly on the spare chair, careful not to disrupt Miss Honey’s careful organization.

“Thank you Lisa. You should have mentioned it yesterday, I would have come and fetched them for you.” She stood from her own chair, it seemed more polite.

The older woman glanced across the desk, surprised by how much the younger teacher had got through during their first day and a half back.

“It looks like you’ve had enough paperwork on your plate today. Don’t worry, most of this just needs to go in the cabinet.” She gave Jenny a smile, some strands of hair had fallen out of her ponytail and now framed her face. Miss Honey gathered from Mrs Brown’s loose sweater that she had walked down.

“Oh, that is good news…” The young woman thought very highly of her deputy headmistress, Lisa had been incredibly supportive during her journey as a new and inexperienced headteacher. 

“You must have had a lot to deal with as well?” Jenny continued.

“Plenty! It’s going to be a busy first few weeks. Don’t worry dear, we’ll get through it.” Mrs Brown half turned back towards the door.

“I should get back for lunch, take care Jenny.” The older woman shot her colleague a warm, endearing smile.

“Goodbye, have a nice afternoon.” Miss Honey called after her, she got the feeling that Lisa had a lot on her plate at the moment.

All at once, the petite teacher snapped back to reality, remembering that she intended to meet Matilda and her friends for lunch. Jenny glanced at the clock. She would be slightly late now, and the children were most likely already sat down to eat.

Miss Honey gathered together all the loose pieces of paper she had yet to organize, leaving everything in an orderly fashion so that she could pick up where she left off this afternoon.

Jenny left the office, closing the door behind her but leaving it unlocked.

Pulling her pink cardigan tighter across her torso, the young woman hurried down the hallway and towards the canteen. Through the doorway, she could see a handful of the older grades still standing in the line.

Jenny paused at the blackboard on the wall, reading the chalk-written menu so she could pick one now and wouldn’t get tongue-tied when it was her turn.

“Afternoon.” Came a smooth voice from right behind her.

Miss Honey jumped, she wheeled round and found herself face to face with the tall figure of Alison Carter.

“Your kids are very lucky, getting a choice.” The dark-haired woman looked past Jenny to the list of options.

“Dr Carter-” The young teacher’s voice came out much squeakier than she would have liked.

Alison didn’t appear fazed, her eyes trailed down the chalk writing and then back onto Miss Honey. The gaze was piercing, like she was studying every micro expression that crossed the other woman’s features.

“Shall we go then?” Dr Carter raised an eyebrow, head inclined slightly towards the end of the line.

“Oh- y-yes” Jenny stammered, following Alison’s lead as the two of them joined the end of it. They stood in silence, the shy teacher struggling to find something to say, she pushed herself to think of something, anything. Deep down, she contemplated complimenting Dr Carter’s top. The rich navy color stood out beautifully against her black pants, with the boot-cut ends covering most of her heeled boots.

The stark colors couldn’t have been a greater contrast against Miss Honey’s simple pastels.

“How were 5th grade this morning?” She finally came up with.

“Good. Still warming up from the long vacation.” Alison moved along with the line as she spoke.

“What did you get up to? Make any more coffees?” She smirked down at the younger teacher in a teasing manner.

“N-no- Just paperwork in the office..” Jenny shuffled in behind her as they reached the front of the line.

“Mac ’n’ cheese, please.” Alison made her choice, taking the food as it was passed over to her and moving down the counter.

“-Please could I have the same.” Miss Honey had forgotten all about choosing from the menu. She thanked Cookie for the mac and cheese and padded after Alison towards the drinks station.

The taller woman had hers, and was already looking out across the canteen.

Dr Carter headed over to a table, with Jenny in tow. The younger woman paused as she spotted Matilda out of the corner of her eye, her adoptive daughter was sat on a table with Lavender, Bruce, Alice and a few of their friends. Miss Honey chewed her lip, contemplating that Matilda might be expecting her to come and join them, and worrying about her being upset if she didn’t.

Alison seemed to sense her hesitancy. The dark-haired woman turned, her gaze flitting between Jenny and the object of her attention.

“Your daughter?” Dr Carter asked in a clear voice, piercing through the distraction.

“Yes.” Miss Honey looked back up at her briefly, clearly at a loss for what to do.

“She seems happy… Look, she’s with her friends. You don’t want her to feel like you think she needs babysitting. It’s good for kids to spend time with children their own age…” Alison could see that Jenny was listening to her. “..the same goes for you, you know.”

The younger woman looked at her with her lips parted slightly, as if the words were turning cogs in her mind, bringing things to the forefront that she had never really faced thinking about before.

Miss Honey resumed walking, following the taller woman over to a free table.

The pair sat down opposite each other, Alison regarding the young teacher with a faint smile on her lips. Jenny, on the other hand, was settling onto the seat, her head trained down towards her plate and her hands fumbling with the silverware.

“So, tell me about your daughter, what’s her name?” Dr Carter was at ease in taking the reins of the conversation.

“M-Matilda.. her name is Matilda.. and she is the best thing that has ever happened to me.” It was clear by the depth of emotion in Miss Honey’s eyes that she meant every word.

“And she’s at High School?” Alison kept her tone casual and picked up her fork to start eating.

“Matilda has a brilliant mind, she’s one of the most intelligent children I’ve ever met… She’s been reading advanced material since Kindergarten-” Jenny mirrored the other woman, she wasn’t used to people asking about her, but at least when it came to her adoptive daughter, she found a quiet confidence in talking about her. “-She’s studying with the older grades now and has a private tutor.”

“You and her father must be very proud.” Alison locked the younger woman in eye contact, watching the mortification wash over Miss Honey’s features.

“-Oh- no- There- ..Matilda is adopted…” Jenny stammered out. “It’s just Matilda and I…”

Her dark-haired companion had to resist a smirk at her bashful manner. Dr Carter let silence fall between them as she continued eating. When she glanced back up, Alison could tell that the floral-clad teacher was struggling to know whether she should ask a question, say something, or what she should do. The older woman let her, biding her time and waiting to see if Jenny would muss up the courage. It didn’t seem like she would.

“How long have you been Principal for?” Alison took the lead once more.

“This will be my third year.” Miss Honey responded between forkfuls of her lunch. She wasn’t used to people asking about her. Not other adults anyway.

“But you still teach Kindergarten.”

“Y-yes, part-time. I love teaching.” She ducked from the other woman’s eye contact as though shy about admitting her passion. “I used to teach Kindergarten full-time.”

“When did you become a teacher? Straight after college?” Between doing the maths, Dr Carter figured that Jenny must have started teaching very young.

“I-I didn’t go to proper college..” A shadow was falling over Miss Honey’s face at the memory of her past. It was something she didn’t want to think about, didn’t want to talk about, but Jenny couldn’t say that to Dr Carter. “Only a small teacher training college.. I did a course there for two years after high school, and then got my job here.” Her eyes dropped, fixed on her plate, she tried to push away the unwanted memories that threatened to come to mind.

Alison resisted probing into the young woman’s past any further. For now, at least. She watched Jenny with a concerned expression for a few moments before deciding to intervene.

“You must be a wonderful teacher, I bet all the kids adore you.” Her voice was warm and gentle. Her words had the desired effect of lifting Miss Honey from her dark thoughts and re-centering her attention to their conversation.

“That’s all I want to be..” She whispered. There was gratitude and appreciation in the young teacher’s eyes when they met Alison’s. Suddenly, Jenny’s features clouded with worry. “I’m sorry, you didn’t come to lunch for me to bore you.”

“Not at all, Jennifer.” It still gave Miss Honey chills the way Dr Carter used her full name. She just hadn’t decided if it was in a good way or a bad way yet.

“Mrs Brown told me you’re a psychologist..” She started after a short silence.

“Yes, I studied psychology in college and for my doctorate. I was working in the field before I did my training to come and teach.” Alison took a sip of her drink.

“What made you decide to become a teacher -if you don’t mind me asking.” Jenny asked, sounding a little nervous. She wasn’t sure if she should ask questions or not, but the other woman didn’t seem to mind.

“I wanted more experience working with children, outside of a clinical setting, to help me gain a greater understanding. I want to publish a research paper on child psychology in elementary education, but it’s not enough to just read about it and observe a few classes.”

Dr Carter shot the younger woman a smile, pleased by the impressed look on her pretty face.

“Another side of my research is looking into how educators could better recognize vulnerable children, spot signs of abuse and how these children can be helped.”

Jenny didn’t mean to react, but her whole body went still. She couldn’t help the way her eyes widened slightly at the dark-haired woman. Her heart was beating so loudly, she was certain Alison would be able to hear.

“That’s wonderful.” Miss Honey wanted to cry in admiration, Dr Carter’s research would contribute towards changing lives, towards making sure no child ever had to grow up the way Jennifer Honey did.

“Thank you, it’s an important issue.” Alison smiled softly, studying the young teacher’s face. They sat like that for a moment, both in thought, reflecting.

Dr Carter finished the last of her mac n’ cheese, then glanced over at Miss Honey’s plate, noting that she was almost finished. Alison sat patiently until the last bite was gone and Jenny had placed down her knife and fork.

“I’ve got to go.” She glanced down at her watch. “But I enjoyed having lunch with you.”

Jenny couldn’t help but feel a little pinch of disappointment.

“Me too, thank you for talking to me.” She dipped her head politely.

“I’m sure we’ll talk again soon. Have a nice afternoon, Jennifer.”

“You too. Goodbye, Dr Carter.” Miss Honey watched as the tall figure stood from her seat, to full height, and headed towards the canteen exit with her empty tray.

Chapter Text

Jenny didn’t move from her seat. She stayed sat by herself, empty tray laid out on the table and her mind running back and forth through the conversation with Alison.

Miss Anderson was right. Dr Carter was a fascinating individual and wonderful to talk to. She wasn’t so sure about Sadie claiming that the dark-haired woman liked her, but she certainly seemed to take an interest, much more than any of the other teachers at Crunchem Hall.

Standing up, Jenny took her tray over to the metal rack, clearing off scraps and then slotting it in with the others.

“Miss Honey!” A young boy’s voice called across the canteen. She turned back to see Matilda and her little band of friends waving enthusiastically. The young teacher padded over to them, taking a seat near the end of the table, next to Bruce.

“Hello everyone. It’s lovely to see all of you together again.” Jenny looked round at each of them with warmth, it was undeniable that she held a soft spot for Matilda’s friends from that special year of Kindergarten. As her eyes fell on her little genius, Miss Honey noted with relief that Matilda didn’t seem to be annoyed at her for having only just come over to them.

“I miss you, Miss Honey!” Lavender exclaimed from across the table beside Matilda.

“Me too!” Bruce joined in, smiling at her through his spoonful of dessert.

“I miss you all too, you’re always welcome to come over and play. You’ll just have to ask Matilda when she’s free.” Jenny gave the little girl a wink. The table immediately burst out into a bubble of excited chatter.

“Can we go on the trampoline again?” Alice cut through the voices, eating lunch no longer the main point of interest.

“Oh yes! What about a picnic, would you like that? We could make our own cookies.” Miss Honey’s tender glance skimmed around the group while she made her suggestion, arms resting on the table as she leant in slightly to fit into the conversation.

The children gasped, excited and thrilled by the idea. It sparked an avalanche of inspiration. Soon, everyone was pitching in with food they wanted to eat or make.

“Chocolate! I wanna make chocolate!” One voice broke above the noise.

“Too much work, Bruce. You’ve got to have cocoa beans for starters.” Matilda reasoned, spoon in hand and eyes drifting from her friend back up to her adoptive mother. Jenny was watching her with a warm and loving gaze, a smile forming on her lips.

“What about candies?” Lavender was also midway through the last bit of her lunch.

“Much easier, depending on which type.” Matilda responded concisely.

“Can we come over this weekend? Please, please!” Alice already seemed far too excited for a Tuesday afternoon. Her question was mostly directed at the young brunette but the little girl looked up at her guardian across the table.

“That’s okay with me. ” Miss Honey gave her a faint nod of the head. She hoped that alongside coming down to Crunchem Elementary for lunch, such weekend playdates would allow Matilda to maintain these crucial ties with her friends in 4th grade.

It wasn’t much longer before they all finished the last of their school lunches and headed out to the playground for the last part of lunch recess. Miss Honey tagged along with them, finding herself a spot on a bench where she could help the lunchtime monitor keep an eye on all the children. Matilda wanted to stay by her, but the young teacher insisted she go off and enjoy some time with her friends, promising to wait and walk with her back up to Crunchem High.

The golden sun illuminated her surroundings, its warmth fighting back against the biting cold of the fall wind. It was a wonderful day to be outside. From her bench, Jenny surveyed across the playground, enjoying the tranquility of the outdoors while also on the alert for any child who might have fallen over or injured themselves.

Occasionally her eyes would fall on Matilda and her group of friends. They had joined forces with another band of classmates and were playing some kind of game, though Miss Honey couldn’t determine what it was exactly. It warmed her heart to see them all running around happily.

When the second hand on Miss Honey’s little black wristwatch reached a certain point, she called Matilda back over. The little girl rushed over, out of breath from running around.

“Shall we head back up now?” The young teacher suggested, she didn’t want her protégé to be late to afternoon class, especially not on their second day.

Matilda nodded, calling out to Bruce, Lavender, Alice, and the others scattered across the playground, all who waved and said goodbye. Playing with her friends was wonderful, but she understood that academia was serious business, and shared Jenny’s sentiment on the subject.

“Did you leave your backpack up there?” Miss Honey asked, rising from the bench and starting the walk up to Crunchem High.

“Yep. I don’t want to carry the encyclopedia around too much.” The young girl mirrored Jenny, skipping alongside her as the pair wandered around the perimeter of the original Crunchem Hall.

“Did you have a nice lunchtime?” The petite woman ventured.

“Yes! It was so much fun! I can’t wait to come back again tomorrow! Lavender says her math syllabus is evil, so I’m going to bring over ours so we can compare together.” She recalled in a cheerful tone, unaware of the anxiety swelling inside the young teacher.

“I’m sorry that I wasn’t there to meet you when you walked down at the beginning of lunch.” At her words, Matilda stopped and regarded her adoptive mother, noticing the tell-tale signs that Jenny was worried about having done something wrong. The young girl reassured her by threading a hand through hers.

“Don’t worry, Jenny. I know you have lots of things to do.” She looked up at Miss Honey, whose gaze had dropped towards the floor. “It can’t be easy being Headmistress. It’s an important role.” Matilda added sagely.

The young woman met her eyes, steps slowing as she came to a standstill directly in front of her little miracle.

“But nothing is more important to me than you.”

“I know.” Matilda wrapped her arms around Jenny’s middle.

Miss Honey felt the tension inside of her ease, a warm glow spreading across her as the brown-haired girl looked up at her. Jenny smiled down at her little miracle, she always seemed to know what to say. The petite teacher thought to herself that she must be the luckiest woman in the whole world, to have such a wonderful, kind and caring little girl come into her life and do so much for her.

The two of them continued up towards the school, it wasn’t far, but gave them enough time for Matilda to recount more about some of the things she had learned in class that morning. When they reached the entrance, the young teacher hugged her adoptive daughter tightly and assured her that she would come and collect her at the end of the day.

The rest of Jenny’s day passed smoothly and without anything of note happening. The young woman spent most of what was left of her afternoon working away in the office, filing and tackling administration. Now that Miss Honey could push away any fears that she had disappointed Matilda, the lunchtime conversation with Dr Carter often clouded her thoughts, drawing out curiosity. She asked herself why the older woman wanted to sit with her, if it was just coincidence, or if there was truth to Miss Anderson’s suspicions.

When Miss Honey dropped by the faculty lounge around late afternoon, she half expected to run into Alison. The corridors were littered with young children heading back to their classrooms following afternoon recess, and many of the teachers had taught refuge gathering around the lounge or making coffee. However, not Dr Carter.

Jenny did her best to make a little polite conversation with her colleagues, before scurrying back to the office. In there, she hid herself away and dived into her work. When the bell rang for the end of the Elementary school day, the young teacher filed away the organized documents and packed away her things. Miss Honey headed out into the corridors, pulling the oak door closed behind her. There were still plenty of students around, but thankfully she had missed the immediate mad rush.

There was no sign of Alison on the way out of Crunchem Hall, though, Jenny never spared a glance towards the parking lot as she walked across the concrete out front. There was no reason for the thought to cross the young woman’s mind. Instead, Matilda was at the forefront of her mind on the familiar trek up to the high school.

Late into the night, Jenny lay tossing and turning in her bed. Caught in the realms of sleep, the young teacher thrashed against the bedsheets, helpless against the tortures of her mind. In her dreams, the frightening and behemothic figure of her Aunt chased her, hunted her down across fields, through hallways, down the cellar’s cold, stone steps.

There was no escape. The monstrous form towered above her, always too fast to get away from, always trapping her, gripping hold of her to crush her desperate bid for freedom. A silhouette shape carved from the light, her wicked Aunt always gleamed down at her with murderous, sadistic eyes. The fear was unbearable, waiting for the blows as they would thunder down, hearing the manic laughter ringing out at her pleas and her pain.

Jenny cried out, begging and screaming as each strike shadowed another. Again, and again, and again, and again, until the pain burnt into a blinding fire of agony.

“Jenny!”

Thick, clawed hands grabbed at her, digging into her arms.

“Jenny! Wake up!”

It wasn’t her Aunt’s voice. There was somebody else. A young girl’s voice.. Matilda!

Jenny’s eyes shot open. She was in her bed, at home. Matilda was leaning over her with a worried expression tainting her features.

“You were having a nightmare, are you okay?” Her adoptive daughter asked, letting her hands gently fall away from the disorientated woman’s shoulders from where she had been trying to rouse her.

Jenny blinked, tearing herself away from the dazed mist of her unconscious mind. She had to focus her mind on her breathing, in and out, until the pounding terror in her heartbeat started to ebb away. It had just been a nightmare.

“-Matilda.. I’m sorry I-” It was not an entirely uncommon occurrence, though thankfully the young teacher’s night terrors had dwindled down over time.

“It’s okay, Jenny. You’re safe now.” The brown-haired girl spoke quietly. It was far from the first time that she had heard Miss Honey suffering from nightmares and crying out in her sleep.

“I’m sorry I woke you up and worried you like that.” The young woman looked ashamed, feeling that it should be her comforting Matilda after a nightmare, not the other way round.

Matilda didn’t respond. Instead, she crawled under the duvet to curl up next to her adoptive mother, laying an arm across her thin waist.

“You don’t need to apologize.” The words soothed Jenny, and her rigid limbs began to relax against the little girl’s warm embrace. “Was it the Trunchbull again?”

The young woman nodded, solemnly. Even after all this time it seemed that her villainous Aunt still had a hold over her. She pressed a kiss to Matilda’s forehead, eternally grateful for her presence.

“You’re safe now. Everything’s going to be okay.” The thoughtful young girl snuggled against her guardian.

The young teacher threaded an arm around her, pulling her adoptive daughter in closer. The one who had changed her life, saved her, and still seemed to be taking care of her now.

“I don’t know what I’d do without you, I love you, Matilda.”

“I love you too, Jenny.”

Chapter Text

The days flew by, one after the other, and Jennifer Honey found herself caught up in the everyday bustle of school life. Wednesday bled into Thursday, Thursday to Friday, and by the rolling round of the weekend, the young teacher, alongside the rest of her colleagues, was thoroughly ready for the two-day break.

Miss Honey had scarcely seen Dr Carter over the course of those days. Only fleeting acknowledgment in the hallways, and Jenny had to wonder if the charismatic, dark-haired woman felt she was too dull and had simply decided to move on and find other people to mix with. In fact, Miss Honey was almost certain of it, having occasionally dropped by the faculty lounge to find Alison center stage of animated discussion and gossip, a small group of people gathered around her. They all seemed enthralled, so much so that Jenny slipped in and out of the room unnoticed.

It wasn’t until the following Tuesday that the timid, young teacher found herself the focus of Dr Carter’s full, undivided attention once again.

The day started out ordinary enough. Jenny dropped Matilda off at high school, headed into her office early, and managed to start some grading. Just before the bell rang to signal the start of class, she made a brief visit to the faculty lounge to fetch Mrs Cooper a coffee, part of a routine that was forming. Miss Honey wanted to make herself as useful as possible.

More paperwork and tidying occupied another hour or so of her morning. While the hallways were still quiet, the young woman headed over to the canteen to speak to Cookie.

Drifting back to the Headmistress’ office, Miss Honey was startled to find the figure of a small boy stood outside the door, leaning against the wall with his hands behind him. He looked bored, periodically pushing himself off the wall and then falling back onto it once again. People didn’t normally come and speak to Jenny during class, normally it would be recess, lunch or after school.

“..Gabriel? Is everything okay?” She inquired, pausing just in front of him. He was one of the older children, and had struggled with a few difficulties during his time at Crunchem. It had transpired that the root of the boy’s anger and tendency to disrupt the class was founded in his lack of confidence and fear of looking stupid in front of the other children. Ever since Miss Honey had worked with his teacher to provide him with additional support, he had come on leaps and bounds.

“Ms Carter sent me.. Told me to go to your office..” Gabriel mumbled, looking agitated.

Jenny didn’t know what to say, she stood there, bewildered, looking at the boy. No one ever sent students to her office.

Back under the Trunchbull’s tyrannical regime, being sent to the principal’s office was a sentence to the chokey- or worse. Miss Honey would never want the children to feel afraid to be near the office, or of speaking to her.

“..W-why did she do that? Did something happen?”

Gabriel kicked his feet from side to side, as though he didn’t want to answer.

“I pushed Jeremy over.. and he almost fell off his chair.” He admitted.

The young teacher looked down at him, a small frown, twinged with disappointment, tainting her features. She knew it wasn’t like him, not anymore, and that he could do much better than that.

“Come on, let’s go inside and sit down.” Miss Honey pushed open the heavy oak door and ushered the boy inside.

Leaving the door slightly ajar, the pair moved into the office and the young woman drew a chair over to the desk so Gabriel could sit down too.

“Here you go, why don’t you have a seat and we can work out how to sort all this out. ” They both sat down on opposite sides, neither venturing to break the silence that settled between them.

Miss Honey wasn’t sure what to do. She knew that Gabriel had done wrong and needed reprimanding, but it was clear from the boy’s remorseful attitude that he understood the fault in his actions. In the young teacher’s eyes, Gabriel had already learnt his lesson.

“..Shall we talk about what happened? ..Do you want to tell me?” Miss Honey asked hesitantly.

The boy looked up from the ground to the young woman, still looking a little sulky but like he definitely wanted to make things right.

“I was-”

A quick knock rapped against the door, interrupting Gabriel, the individual behind it wasting no time in swinging the door fully open. Alison Carter emerged from the hallway, her dark, fitted attire giving her an aura of authority.

“Dr Carter..” Miss Honey stood from her seat, surprised by the older woman’s unexpected visit.

“Jennifer.” Alison acknowledged her in a formal tone, giving the young teacher a look which trailed down her patterned dress. Her line of thought eventually being pulled back to why she had come, the tall woman positioned herself midway between the door and the desk.

“I sent Gabriel to your office because of his unacceptable behavior. He has been aggressive towards his classmates and we need to intervene before this unruly attitude gets any more out of hand.” Her authoritative words commanded attention, the others not even daring to move as she spoke.

“Y-yes, Gabriel told me what happened..” Miss Honey crumbled under the taller woman’s expectant stare. She pulled her cardigan sleeves down until they eclipsed her hands, as though she could find refuge in the well-worn fabric.

“And what have you decided as a suitable punishment?” Dr Carter folded her arms, words careful and cutting.

“I-I” Jenny grappled with the horrifying haze of panic which overtook her. She tried to fight it, hide it, keep it back. It was the way the other teacher spoke, this talk of disciplining, it unearthed deep-rooted fears and that horrible sense of dread entrenched in the young teacher. She couldn’t let it take over now.

“I thought… Maybe Gabriel could write an apology letter… t-to Jeremy and to you. You would do that, wouldn’t you?” Miss Honey turned to the boy, desperate to resolve the issue and sever the tension in the air which had her so on edge.

To her relief, he nodded compliantly. Clearly she was not the only one who felt winded by Alison’s intimidating expression of displeasure. 

“Does that sound okay to you, Dr Carter?” Jenny managed a few steps so that she was aligned with the table rather than behind it. She swallowed nervously as the dark-haired woman’s stern air did not soften at her suggestion.

“An apology letter?” Alison let it roll off her tongue distastefully. “It would be much more appropriate for him to be put in detention.. at the very least. His parents should be informed as well.”

“H-his parents?” Miss Honey stammered out in disbelief. She looked to Gabriel, the little boy who had come so far over the last few years, whose face was already shadowed with sorrow and regret over his actions. It seemed cruel to come down on him so harshly, she knew his parents wouldn’t take the news of such an incident well.

“Wouldn’t that be a-a little harsh-” The petite teacher tried to reason, forcing herself to meet her colleague’s eyes and not just shy away from her disapproving stare.

Alison tilted her head slightly, gaze roaming down Jenny’s arm to study the way her hands were gripping onto her long sleeves for dear life. Excruciatingly slowly, the older woman took a few purposeful steps forward, breaching the social norm of what would be deemed an acceptable distance for personal space.

Miss Honey’s eyes were tinged with fear. She couldn’t help but take half a step back at the advance, all of her old instincts were alight and screaming at her.

“Jennifer” Dr Carter began, one hand resting against the edge of the table and leaning down slightly to make full use of her height advantage over the other woman.

“I know you want what’s best for the children, anyone can see that. It’s clear that you care about them very much. However, sometimes it’s not enough to want everyone to be happy and get along.” No one interrupted Alison or sought to question her words.

“During teacher training, our mentors and professors were very adamant about the importance of correcting problematic behaviors early on.”

Biting insecurities regarding her own capabilities washed over Jenny. She became painfully conscious of her own lack of qualifications.

“The solution is to provide a wake-up call, we have to be strict early on. Harsher punitive measures now will be more effective at stopping students from acting out like this in the long run.”    Dr Carter emphasized almost each and every word, cold features softening a little as she noted how attentively the younger woman was listening and taking it all in.

“That’s what you want, isn’t it? A nice environment, kids being kind to one another?”

Jenny nodded meekly.

“And that logic makes sense, from a psychology perspective. We looked at a lot of this in my research, behavioral conditioning, causes of troublesome outbursts, how to interrupt these patterns of behavior. I know it’s not what you want to hear, but it is the best way forward.” Alison let the last of her pitch settle in the younger teacher’s mind. It was clear that the battle had already been won.

A long silence fell between the two women, Dr Carter waiting patiently for Jenny’s verdict, not that she couldn’t already tell which way the impressionable young woman would fall.

Miss Honey’s mind was reeling. She let her gaze drift down to the floor, unable to hold eye contact anymore. Everything Alison said make sense, and it seemed clear to her that the qualified psychologist knew what she was talking about. Jenny struggled to string together any resemblance of a rebuttal.

“You’re right.. I’m sorry, you know best.” The young woman folded her hands together, barely able to look towards Gabriel for the nasty feeling of guilt. Even if she could see how it would be best in the long-term.

The corners of Dr Carter’s mouth turned up in a satiated smile, pleased with Jenny’s change of heart. Not that there had been much heart involved.

“That’s settled then, detention after school tomorrow?” Alison stood back up to full height, letting her hand leave the table and move to her hip instead.

“Y-yes, tomorrow.. please, Gabriel.” The young teacher’s voice was almost as weak as her smile.

“But Miss Honey-”

“Enough.” Dr Carter cut him off.  “You can go now Gabriel, go and join your class” She watched the boy carefully as he darted off his chair and hurried out of the office, his face a picture of misery.

Alison turned back round to fix her eyes on the petite woman before her, still pinned to the spot by the older teacher’s proximity. The dark-haired woman sat her weight against the table, the previously cold and displeased expression on her features giving way to a wicked smile.

“I haven’t seen you much this week.” Her voice pierced through the heavy silence.

“N-no I…suppose I haven’t.. seen you.” Jenny looked at a loss for what to do, or what was the right thing to say.

“Been avoiding me?”

“No! Not at all..” Miss Honey’s cheeks flushed a little red, she felt that it had been quite the opposite, but lacked the courage to voice her thoughts.

“Good.” Dr Carter let her gaze momentarily wander once again. “I enjoyed it when we ate lunch together. I thought it was a shame when I didn’t hear from you after that..”

Jenny’s mouth opened a little in surprise. She cursed herself for being so inept at understanding social cues and what people were hinting for her to do. This time at least, she could read the other woman’s questioning look.

“I-I” The timid young teacher opened her mouth to speak but the words wouldn’t come out.

Alison deemed that a quick glance to her watch would be enough of a push.

Such a gesture was impossible to miss. Jenny apologized, instinctively.

“I’m sorry- I’m not very good at saying the right thing… Would you like to.. if you have some spare time and aren’t too busy with 5th grade..” She drew a deep breath, trying to center her mind on Miss Anderson’s words, on the idea that someone like Alison being remotely interested in her was even a possibility.

“..Would you like to-”

“Are you asking me to go for a coffee?” Dr Carter teased, smirking as Jenny blushed deeply.

“I- yes- I thought it would be-” The floral-clad teacher struggled to finish her sentence. She looked up at Alison, riddled with apprehension and the dread of being met with mocking laughter, but was relieved to see a smile on the other woman’s face.

“I’ll sort something out later in the week.” Alison stood up from leaning against the desk. “Well done for earlier, you dealt with that well.”

A few steps towards the door were enough to indicate to Jenny that their conversation was over.

“Hopefully, see you around.”

“Okay, thank you. H-have a nice day.”

Chapter Text

The shrill sounding of the bell filled the entire classroom, breaking through Matilda Honey’s deeply engrossed train of thought. The young girl looked up from her geometry work as everyone around her began to pack up their things ready to leave.

“Don’t forget to finish those two pages by next class and we’ll go through the answers together.”

Her teacher’s voice was only just audible over the bustle of the other students moving. Matilda looked back down at her paper, pencil in hand. She had just started to properly settle into the task and didn’t want to stop now and interrupt the mindset, but at the same time, the little girl didn’t want to leave Jenny standing outside waiting for her.

Hurriedly, Matilda closed the book and slid her things into her backpack. She thanked Mr Snicket and joined the tail end of the students seeping out into the corridor. While most of them were nice enough to her, Matilda couldn’t describe any of them as her friends. A handful simply ignored her. Among those who didn’t, the young brunette still couldn’t shake off the sense of aloofness. She supposed it must be very strange for them, to have someone several years younger join their class.

The rush of students spilled out onto the courtyard, Matilda spotted her adoptive mother, donning her trusty pink cardigan. The brown-haired girl ran over and swung her arms round Jenny’s waist.

“Have you had a good day, sweetheart?” Miss Honey asked, holding Matilda close to her.

“Yes, I think so. I missed coming down for lunch to see you and Lavender and Bruce and everyone.. But the professor’s talk on Astronomy was amazing!”

Matilda and Jenny turned and started on the walk home.

“Did you know that the rotation of the earth is slowing down? Back when the dinosaurs lived, a day on earth was only 23 hours long! It’s something to do with the moon.. which is very, very slowly moving away from us.. Isn’t that crazy?” The little girl continued excitedly.

Miss Honey looked at her adoptive daughter with genuine surprise and interest. Matilda’s capacity and drive to learn about anything and everything she could never ceased to amaze her.

“That is crazy.. I had no idea.”

“It was so cool. I couldn’t concentrate in afternoon class for ages! I just kept thinking about it.” Matilda hitched her backpack up slightly.

“It’s okay though, most of what we did was just more practice from yesterday’s class. Anyway, how are Lavender and Bruce, did you sit next to them today?” Matilda asked, skipping ahead of Jenny as she often did.

“…I didn’t.. no, not today- but I will tomorrow, when you come down for lunch.”

Matilda didn’t see it as such a strange thing. She knew her adoptive mother, between part-time teaching kindergarten and acting in her role as Headmistress, couldn’t always follow the same schedule day after day. Sometimes there were meetings or spontaneous issues she needed to deal with.

“Why not? Were you with the teachers?”

The young woman stalled with her words. She couldn’t lie to the precocious little girl.

“I.. no, I had lunch in the office..”

Now Matilda could tell that something was out of the ordinary. She turned to look at Jenny, taking in the apprehensive expression on the kindergarten teacher’s face.

“Really? You don’t normally.” The young girl stated.

“I guess I had a lot on my mind, dear. Nothing to worry about, I just.. Sometimes people say things and it just makes you think and wonder..” Jenny trailed off, her mind losing track of where it had sought to go with such a sentence. “..Just makes you wonder about things..” She repeated, looking a little bashful and nervous.

“You can talk to me about it, Jenny.” Matilda slowed her pace so that the two of them were walking in sync.

“..There’s a new teacher in school… and Miss Anderson thinks that she… might.. be interested.. in- in spending some time with me.. We’ve been talking about going for a coffee..” The young teacher could just about make out the figure of the little girl beside her pausing in thought, contemplating.

“Like, on a date..?” Matilda, as emotionally intelligent and straight to the point as she was, was the first person to use those words.

“…Yes, I think so.” Jenny stopped and turned to Matilda, concern lacing her features.

“Would you be okay with that, sweetie? I don’t want you to ever think that you aren’t enough for me. You’re my whole world, Matilda. You come before everything, so if you would rather that I didn’t go, or- or, you’re not happy with the idea-”

“I think you should go.” Matilda interrupted. She took hold of her adoptive mother’s hand and stared up at her with a look of understanding far beyond her years. It was abundantly clear in her own mind how significant something like this would be for Jenny, and as much as the selfish part of her longed to keep all of Miss Honey’s care and attention all to herself, she equally understood the importance of her having the opportunity to form meaningful relationships with other adults.

Wordlessly, the young woman bent down and placed a gentle kiss on the back of the little girl’s hand as she brought it up slightly.

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.” Her young prodigy nodded, using their joined hands to pull the petite teacher along the path that led them back home.

Jenny smiled, happily pulled forward by Matilda. Doubt still clouded her mind as to whether someone as charismatic and successful as Doctor Carter would really be looking to pursue something with her, but at least now she could attend this little rendezvous without worrying about how Matilda would feel.

“Anyway, it might not even come to anything.. it’s only coffee.” The young woman stated, her and Matilda gently swinging their arms back and forth as they walked.

“When are you going?” The brown-haired girl chirped up.

Jenny looked away, her eyes gazing over the surrounding trees. Her mind replayed the vivid image of Alison, with her rich brown hair, leant against the desk with her expectant eyes as she finally mussed up the courage.

“I don’t know yet.. She’s going to sort out a time.” She remembered the taller woman saying something along those lines. The exact words were a little hazy, after all, the young woman had been so nervous.. Alison made her so nervous.. in a good way, wasn’t it?

The way the kindergarten teacher seemed to become lost in her own thoughts didn’t go unnoticed by her little miracle. The girl had never heard Jenny talk about someone as though there was some potential for romance before, she’d never imagined her searching for a partner or being with someone, but the way her guardian seemed so distracted by this mysterious new teacher…

“Do you love her?” Matilda asked, her tone suddenly serious as she gave her adoptive mother a look.

“No!” Jenny exclaimed, the unexpected question snapped her wandering train of thought back to the present.

“-I don’t even really know her.. not yet.” The young woman shook her head, she wasn’t even sure that she could decipher in her own mind how she felt towards the tall, dark-haired psychologist, never mind trying to express these feelings to Matilda.

“But you like her?.. In a romantic way?”

“I suppose.. I.. I don’t know Matilda, dating is not something I’ve ever really thought about before.” She sounded lost, more than anything.

Matilda’s bout of questions dissolved into a comfortable silence between the pair as they continued their walk side by side, Matilda occasionally skipping along. It wasn’t a long walk back to the beautiful old house, and it was something that they both enjoyed, being able to meander along in each other’s company, provided that it wasn’t raining or too cold.

Having decided that she’d spent long enough fretting and overthinking this potential coffee ‘date’, Miss Honey’s head was quickly abuzz with everything that she needed to do for Crunchem and the upcoming days teaching in Kindergarten.  Soon enough, they found themselves at the edge of the driveway, crunching along the gravel that led to the front door, where Jenny rummaged through her worn old cloth duffle bag for the keys. The young woman plucked them out and unlocked the door, holding it open for her adoptive daughter to step inside.

Once through the door, Matilda rubbed her school shoes on the doormat and undid the velcro to slide them both off.

“Jenny?” The question on the tip of her tongue was burning through her and the brown-haired  girl just had to say it.

“Yes sweetheart?” Her sweet-natured guardian had closed the door behind them and was knelt down in front of Matilda undoing the buttons to her jacket.

“Do you wish you were dating someone?” Her question hung heavily in the air. Jenny’s soft hands stopped for a moment, her eyes gazing up at the little girl were twinged with sadness.

“Matilda, I have everything I need here with you.” The slender young woman continued gently down the line of buttons.

“I meant what I said earlier.” She unhooked the last one, but instead of pushing it off her adoptive daughter, Jenny placed her hands lightly on the side of each of the girl’s shoulders, willing for her to listen and believe the sincerity of her words.

“This new teacher is very charming and very intelligent, and I think I would like to spend some time with her.. But you are my daughter, I love you, and being with you makes me happier than anything in the whole wide world. Please never forget that.” There was a second as the two of them stayed exactly like that, looking into each other’s eyes.

Matilda swung her arms round the petite figure, careful not to knock her over. It soothed the worry and the creeping guilt for shifting her own insecurities onto her wonderful Jenny, who she knew already grappled deeply with her own anxieties. Most of all, Matilda felt the comfort and the love.

“I love you too.”

The young woman smiled at her words. She rubbed the little girl’s back and as she let go, Jenny took the jacket from where it hung loose around Matilda’s shoulders, placing a kiss on her forehead when she stood to place it on one of the coat hooks.

“Come on, let’s go find you some cookies and we can have a look at your additional work.”

A smile sparked and started to spread across Matilda’s face, Jenny always knew how to cheer her up and make her happy. Putting the questions, the uncertainties and what-ifs firmly behind her, the brown-haired girl followed her favorite person in the world further into their home towards the kitchen.

A few hours later, when the pair had sat through carefully reading and working on all the extra credit assignments, Matilda regarded the young teacher as she toiled away preparing dinner. She couldn’t help but feel touched by the strength of their connection and how fully they’d both experienced it today. Hawking her mind back to what she had seen and heard of Jenny’s childhood, she knew they had both lived through the same trials of having to look after themselves at a far too young age. Still, for her adoptive mother it had been far worse. For all her neglect, at least her mother had never physically hurt her or put her through such torture as Jenny’s tyrannical Aunt.

The very thought made her bristle and a rage burn in her heart so strong that it would have given her the strength to lift a thousand castles if she still possessed her powers.

Her connection with Jenny was something else. Something incredibly powerful that bound the two of them together and made them able to understand each other in greater depths than any outsider could comprehend. It was something she never, ever wanted to lose.