Chapter Text
Jonathan Kent strolled down the empty halls of Richardson High School, wondering what he had done to get called to the principal’s office after only a week of school.
Of course, he was almost 23 now, and working at Richardson as a teacher, so it wasn’t quite the same as being a student and having to go to the principal’s office, but still, he was concerned. The principal was his boss after all, and the meeting seemed rather sudden.
The principal, Mr. Kyle Sawyer was a man who was tall in stature but quick to smile. He and Jon had hit it off right away during the initial interview and Jon had liked him immediately.
Jon was immensely grateful to the principal for giving him a chance and offering him the job, even though he was fresh out of college. But the appreciation went both ways. Kyle was excited to add such a motivated, but easygoing staff member to his school. Plus, Jon had glowing recommendations from several professors and a transcript showed that Jon was wicked smart too.
In addition, Jon had a stellar letter of recommendation from a football coach he had been working for while in college. Based on that letter, Kyle happily offered Jon the assistant football coach position, which Jon readily accepted.
Even though he was young, Jon felt that he had done a good job so far as both a teacher and a coach. The students seemed to respect and get along with him. And they appreciated that he understood their slang and didn’t try to correct their grammar, unlike some of their older teachers.
But despite his popularity with the students, Jon was no pushover. He expected his students to work hard and had developed a curriculum designed to challenge them. In addition, he maintained a controlled classroom environment, and was very organized with all his lessons and assignments.
In short, Jon had a great case to be employee of the month.
Which is why it was a little concerning that he had gotten a text from the principal the previous night requesting a meeting with him before school that next day, on Monday morning.
Instead of sleeping, he had spent several hours worrying and wracking his brain, trying to figure out what he might have done wrong. His conclusion: nothing.
As he passed through the empty halls that sported posters for musical tryouts and the homecoming committee, Jon couldn’t help but remember his own time in high school. As a kid, he had assumed they would be some of the best years of his life.
But finding out his dad was Superman and moving to Smallville changed all that. Plus, after the X-K mess, Jon never gained back the stellar reputation he once had in Metropolis. So instead of high school being the best years of his life, Jon did his best just to survive.
In fact, he worked tirelessly to convince the closed minded citizens of Smallville that he wasn’t a bad kid; a feat he never quite achieved thanks to the X-K and small town gossip. In addition, since his football career was presumably over, Jon also tried to find something else that he could be just as passionate about…but had no luck.
When the time came to decide on a college, Jon picked one four hours away. At first, his parents were disappointed that he was choosing to move so far from home, but Jon was determined. It was time for him to have a fresh start and to decide the kind of man he wanted to be. And one thing was for sure, he couldn’t do that under his parents watchful eyes and Jordan’s ever growing superhero shadow.
After only a year in the dorms, Jon decided to get his own place and quickly found an apartment that wasn’t too far from campus. But having an apartment meant one thing: he needed a steady job. But after three years of customer service in Smallville, he wanted a change.
As luck would have it, Jon ended up working for a local football team, mostly assisting the head coach with menial tasks like checking out uniforms, paperwork, or filling water bottles.
And despite his parents initial reservations, it was a job that kept him involved with a game he had loved since he could walk. Plus, it gave Jon a sense of purpose that he hadn’t had since he had been the one running across the football field. And since he'd been living in the shadow of Jordan being Superboy for almost a decade...Jon was ready for something of his own.
Jon was invited back to coach the next year and having some tenure by then, got the opportunity to watch film with the coaches and actually work with some players. The head coach was especially pleased when Jon announced he had decided to major in education so he could continue to coach football in the future. The coach claimed that Jon was a natural and his future students would be lucky to have him.
And now, almost four years later, Jon was teaching full time, working as an assistant coach, and was hoping he hadn’t done anything to screw up the job he had quickly fallen in love with.
Jon stood outside the principal’s door and forced himself to relax. Kyle Sawyer was a cool guy, and whatever the problem was, it could be worked out.
He hoped.
“Come on in,” Kyle said, after Jon hesitantly knocked on the door. Jon opened the door and walked in to find the principal sitting at his large, wooden desk. It was covered with a mix of family photos and sports trophies, making it clear where his priorities lay.
“Jon Kent,” he bellowed, standing up for a hand shake. “How are you this morning?”
“Just fine, sir,” Jon answered with a smile, trying to remind himself to be confident. After all, he hadn’t done anything wrong.
“Good, good. Sit down.” Jon took a seat and Kyle did the same. “Thanks so much for coming in early and meeting me like this before school.”
“It’s no problem sir,” Jon said, smiling again, hoping it was convincing.
“I appreciate you being so flexible, especially during a difficult situation like this,” Kyle said, his smile faltering for the first time.
Jon’s heart dropped. This could not be happening. He had just started to get his life back on track. “A situation like what, sir?”
“I’m sorry to have to tell you this…”
Jon’s pulse began to beat faster.
“Coach Mason had a stroke yesterday.”
Jon raised his eyebrows. That was the last thing he expected Kyle to say. Coach Mason was the head football coach and only 62 years old. “Is he alright?”
“His wife told me it was a little touch and go for a while, but yes, thankfully, he has a good chance to make a full recovery.”
Jonathan let out a deep sigh. “Well that’s good.”
Coach Mason was a perfect fit for the world of high school football. He was gruff, disciplined, had a booming voice, and above all, very passionate about the sport. In addition, he was fair to the players and had welcomed Jon to his staff with open arms, unlike some of the other coaches who were unsure about working with an outsider and a first year teacher.
Jon was sorry to see the man hurt. “What does his recovery process look like?”
“Once he gets out of the hospital, a lot of rehab, relearning to talk and use the left side of his body.”
“Oh wow,” Jon said, genuinely surprised that the stroke had done that much in such a short amount of time. Coach Mason always seemed so strong and...almost indestructible, that the idea that he had to relearn to do something as simple as talking was hard to believe.
“Yeah, he’s got a long road ahead and everybody here at the school is going to do whatever they can to help.”
Jon nodded. “Yes, sir. Absolutely, of course, count me in, anything I can do.”
Kyle nodded in approval. “I’m glad you feel that way.” He leaned forward in his seat. “I need somebody to take over as head football coach. And I’d like to offer you the position.”
Jon’s jaw dropped. He was just 22. This was his first job out of college. School had only been in session for a week. He didn’t have any experience as a head coach.
“Me, sir?”
“Yes, you, Jon. You’ve done great work here and based on what I’ve seen from two-a-days this past summer, you know the sport backwards and forwards. It’s a big favor to ask, I know, but the season is starting soon and we have that scrimmage on Friday. Basically, we really need someone to step in.”
Still baffled and a little blindsided, Jon needed more information. “Well, wouldn’t one of the other assistant coaches be better? I mean they’re older and have been here way longer.”
Kyle nodded in agreement. “That’s true, but the others on the coaching staff are just community members, they aren’t full time staff. The school board passed a rule last year that all head coaches have to be full time teachers. It was kind of an unpopular decision and there’s a lot of red tape around the whole issue. The point is, if we tried to put in one of the assistants, the school board could halt the season, postpone it, or even cancel it if we don’t follow the rules. Considering the kids did nothing wrong, I don’t think that’s fair to them. Which brings us back to you.”
Jon’s brain was running a million miles a minute. He thought the meeting would be to talk about some disciplinary action, and instead he was being offered the chance at being a head coach; to lead a group of talented young guys to victory and to be in the spotlight again.
He wasn’t vain about wanting to receive attention, but it was a chance to show his parents he was doing something right here at Richardson, that teaching and coaching was a good fit for him. And even though he didn’t have superpowers, it would show Jon’s parents that he could make a difference in his own way.
When he first announced his change in career choice, his parents were both very much against it. Lois, of course, was mostly worried about Jon moving away from the family and being alone. Jon had tried to convince her that he would be fine, that it was healthy to branch away from your parents.
Lois still worried.
Meanwhile, Clark was disappointed because being a teacher was about as different from the “family business” as possible. Jon had worked with Lara a lot throughout high school and been a lot of help at the Fortress over the years, which his dad had tried to remind Jonathan of. The well meaning father encouraged Jon to stick with the engineering or mechanical route and settle down in Smallville so he could be close to home.
That was the last thing Jon wanted.
To his parents, Jon had claimed that teaching was a good opportunity and something he was really interested in. But the truth was, after playing second fiddle to Jordan throughout high school and college, Jon needed to feel good at something again, to do something important, and not just be what was left over.
And not just to be a part of a team, but the head coach? Well, that was a dream, a dream bigger than he had allowed himself in years.
But more importantly, Jon knew better than anyone what it felt like to have your season suddenly canceled. All the hard work you had been doing…all of it was for nothing. Could he stand by and let the players go through that, even though he had the power to stop it?
“Well, Jon, what do you think? Many of the other teachers are bogged down with different projects, and you’re already coaching anyway. Plus, I’m told you’ve built a great rapport with the team and really know what you’re doing. So what do you say? Do you wanna be the new head football coach at Richardson High School?”
After years of trying to find his place again, being smothered under his dad’s shadow and being the powerless, screw-up twin, Jonathan Kent finally had a shot to accomplish something worthwhile again.
Sure, it would be hard work, and probably more of a challenge than anything he had ever taken on. There might be flack from the parents and coaches who didn’t think he was qualified. And his own parents probably wouldn’t like it...
Basically, there were a thousand reasons to say no. But at that moment, only one answer came out of his mouth.
“It would be an honor sir.”