Chapter Text
Today, Sam was given a task by Chris's father. "Take him out somewhere!" He said, "Let him enjoy someplace! All you have to do is supervise."
Now, it's not that he disliked Chris, he was a nice kid, but he really didn't know where to take a 11-year old boy. And sitting in the car with him looking solemnly out a window isn't helping his case.
So, he takes his phone out and opens the car door.
"Just wait a second, alright?" He says to Chris before practically slamming the door in his face. He opens his contacts to figure out who to call..
And then it hits him.
Calling... Mr. Stewart (Chris's Teacher)...
"Hello, Mr. Speed." The voice said on the other line. It didn't sound very eager to deal with him. "What are you calling me for?"
"Hey, Mr. Stewart! Sorry to call you out of the blue, but I'm taking one of your students out to go somewhere, and I'm at a loss for where to go. Since I called you, I was assuming that you could help me figure this out..?"
By the time he got to the end of his sentence, he realized how ridiculous he sounded. And that was only confirmed by the silence on the other line.
"....Why did you call me of all people to help with this?" He finally responded. "You could've called any other person."
"Well, you certainly have a point.." He looked back into the car, to check if Chris was still in there, and he was. He was watching Sam talk on the phone. He moved his head to look at something super interesting out the opposite car window when he noticed him. "But I can't really call his parents as they're busy, and I thought, well, you're his teacher so you know how he is, and.. you can see where I'm at."
Sam heard a sigh on the other end of the line. "Just.. take him somewhere where kids can have fun. An aquarium is a good example, I'd say."
"Hey, that's perfect! Thanks so much!"
Sam was just about to hang up, but then he stopped.
"Ah, well.. are you free for the rest of the day?"
Silence quickly let what he said sink in.
"..What?" Mr. Stewart replied.
"Oh, no, I wasn't talking about a date!" He felt something rise in his chest; it was probably embarrassment from the misunderstanding. "I was asking if you were free so that you could come with me to the aquarium. For assistance."
"..For assistance?" Mr. Stewart repeated. "Assistance on what?"
"Assistance with.. Chris."
"Don't you know how to handle a child?"
"Well, as much as I love my nephew.. I'm not very good with kids, and I don't see him as often as I would like to. Also with what I said earlier, you could be a massive help." Yes, okay, that is not the strongest reasoning for asking him to come, but he would love it if somebody came along with him for this. He works well with people around him.
He decided to throw in a last ditch effort. "Listen, I took work off for this. I don't want this to be for nothing."
Silence returned once again and Sam got nervous. He didn't wait for Mr. Stewart to answer.
"Look, I'm just gonna go to an aquarium. If you want to come, you're free to do so."
He hung up before he could respond, only hearing the beginning of a "wait, hold on-", but he didn't think too much into it. He spent too much time asking him for help; he should be driving already.
He opens the drivers door, gets into the driver's seat, and is greeted with a awkward glance as he looks at Chris.
"..I've figured out where we're going!" He said, laughing nervously as he went to Google to search 'Aquariums near me'.
It quickly gave him a place and he set it to his GPS.
At the last moment before propping up his phone, he sent the location to Mr. Stewart. It would be hypocritical of him to say he could come and then not tell him where they're going.
If he really wanted to come, he could now.
Sam started up the car and started to drive.
...
Mr. Stewart stared at his reflection in the 'call ended' screen, only seeing his conflicted face at the situation he's in.
He doesn't have to go to the Aquarium with them. He could just stay home for the rest of the weekend. He could slave away at his computer all weekend and that would be business as usual.
..So why is a part of him considering going?
It's not like he even knows where they're going. There's nothing that he could do.
....Sam just sent a link to the location of where they're going. Probably to let him be able to go even though he didn't give a clear answer.
.....
He got up from his couch and sighed, shutting down his laptop and walking straight to his closet. He was getting a little sick of wearing the same outfit to any occasion he went and he wanted to wear something different. He sifted through his closet, and landed on a shirt he didn't even remember buying. It was a black button down shirt with sea fish patterned all over it.
"That is.. oddly convenient." He said to himself before grabbing the shirt off the hanger and putting it on quickly as if he was in a rush to dress before leaving. He took a glance at how he looked in a mirror but didn't take it in fully as adrenaline kept rushing him to get to his car. He was just going to see his student that he teaches and Sam Speed at an aquarium that he wasn't even interested in going to before. Why is he treating this like it's a high stakes situation??
Well, he was in his car now, and setting up the GPS to the aquarium. He took a moment to sit there and breathe. It let him organize his thoughts.
Why did he become so on edge as time went on?
He's going to a place where he has to be around his student and Sam. That's an easy answer to an easy question.
But the more the answer sank in, it left another question in the empty space..
He wasn't bothered by Chris, so what was it about Sam that put him so on edge?
...
He didn't feel ready to open up that question. Not right now. He pushed all of his thinking about Sam out of a mental window to think about later and started up his car to begin driving.
At least he's going to an aquarium. He hasn't been to one in a long while.