Chapter Text
She was a moon flower, only blooming at night. She never would let anyone close enough to see her true light.
Every year the same story: summer is too short, September comes too quickly and settles down its own routine: wake up, have a cup of coffee, think that breakfast might be a good idea, but every time your stomach feels funny so you just ignore the most important meal of the day; take a shower, pick some matching clean cloths, name that disaster an outfit and get out of the house to get to work. On the quick walk between the front door and car try your best to avoid the neighbors. When that doesn’t work out, try your best to ignore pettiness in their eyes. Get to work, teach, go home, have a little too much to drink, fall asleep on the couch, repeat.
Agatha has had her routine for five years now. It’s somehow pathetic and comforting at the same time and she can live with that. She has her job, house and that’s enough. Even if there are some places in her home that she never goes to or history topics that her students will never hear about from her, it’s okay. She is settled. She has a friend, even, and it is even more than she believes she needs. Has her weekly therapy sessions that her friend - Wanda - insisted that she would benefit from. So, yeah, she is perfectly fine.
It is until one particular September arrives that she is not so sure anymore.
The first day of the new school year she was walking to her car, trying to balance a folder with paperwork, her laptop, a bag and car keys in her hands, irritated at the world before the day even had properly started, when the familiar young boy appeared out of nowhere.
“Hi, Agatha!” Billy said, two paper cups with what smelled like coffee in his hands.
“Fucking hell,” Agatha murmured, trying to open her car, “Hi, Teen,” she didn’t even tried to smile at him, busy with an attempted escape. The truth is he was the least annoying teenager in all of her classes and knew history very well. Maybe it is because he is Wanda’s son and she knew him since he was a kid, but she also couldn’t be alone with his twin brother or the murder would take place. Anyway, it was better to meet him than to run into her neighbor Mrs. Hart., an old lady who always made sure to ask Agatha how she was doing and if she needed any help. Agatha really had to bite her tongue not to bite back something like “Do you suddenly know how to bring people from the dead?”, but in the end she just nodded her way out of the conversation. And who takes care of their garten at 7 a.m. anyway?
“I’ll see you at your third period,” she groaned in frustration both because she could not for the life of hers open her car and because Billy suddenly forgot how to take hints. “Here is the thing,” started Billy and Agatha immediately knew she would not like the next thing he would say, “I don’t have a car and I missed my bus, so, I thought since we are going to the same place anyway…” he smiled, but it was week and sheepish. Agatha's car finally gave in and opened. She looked at Billy with annoyance. “Can’t your parents take you?”
“They don’t have a first period,” Agatha wanted to cry, “I brought you coffee,” quickly said Billy and gave her a cup. Agatha took it and without a word got in the car, throwing all of her belonging to the seat behind her, “Get in quick,” Billy obeyed, and before she even started the engine, he was at the passenger seat, too scared she would change her mind if he hesitated, “It is the first and only time,” she warned him, pulling out of driveway.
The morning started off. But at least Billy was quiet.
“So, since I am a senior,” never mind, “I went through different colleges over the summer,” Agatha didn’t even bother to pretend she was listening, her eyes were on the road and she took a sip of the coffee Billy brought, humming in approval. Judging by the style of the cup it was from some of those small, queer, indie places with overly high prices, but, Agatha must admit, it was worth it, “and took a look at programs. I think I finally know what I want to study.” Agatha, eyes still on the road, sighed, expecting to hear something about art degree, “I am going to major in history,” it was not the best time to take a sip.
“What?!” she said a little bit too loud for her liking, “What, do you wanna be a teacher? Are you kidding me?”
“No, not a teacher. Look, it’s just something I am passionate about. I love history. I love your lessons,” Agatha scoffed, her heart now heavy, “History is fascinating. So many stories to research on, so many to re-tell,” Billy said with a heart eyes, “And you always know specifically which to tell at the right moment. And how to tell it. You should write a book, really,” he continued, blubilling, but for Agatha his words were blurry. Suddenly it all feels out, not heard, not real and somehow Billy’s voice becomes Nicolas’.
“When I grow up, I want to be a historian just like you, mama.”
“And why is that, hon?”
“You always tell the best stories! And the coolest part is, they’re all true!”
He didn’t grow up. Don’t think about it. He didn’t get the chance to…
“It’s stupid.” she says, throwing a half-full cup out of the car window, “You are an idiot.”
“That’s not fair. I thought, you’ll be… Forget it,” she wants to ask,"You thought I would be what?”, but doesn't. Billy stays silent till the end of the ride.
The minute she pulls in front of a school he gets out of the car. Neither of them said a word to each other. Agatha doesn’t even wait until he closes the car door to start to drive again, probably breaking some sort of safety regulation. Billy is ridiculous. She is a reasonable adult and he is a naive teenager who wants to let his fantasy get over his brain. She really needs to talk to Wanda about it.
She parks and gets out of her car. School meets her with the noise of thousands of kids heading towards the building, their cars and bikes being parked outside, phones ringing and giggling. There are some of her colleagues, too, right in front of the front doors, greeting students and chatting with each other. The first instinct Agatha has is to run, but she has a goddamn job to do, so she pulls herself together and walks towards her them.
“Good morning!” Alice, the PE teacher, greets her with a cheerful smile. Agatha tries to reciprocate, but judging from the look on Alice’s face, she fails, “Morning,” she answers, also nodding to Jen, who teaches chemistry.
“Always so cheerful,” Agatha hears her whisper, but chooses to ignore it.
“So,” Alice starts, “any big plans for the first day back to school?”
“Nah, just the usual.”
“Then why don’t you come along with us to grab a drink? Celebrate?” The look Jen gives her is something between Are you insane? and Why are you asking her of all people? and Agatha honestly doesn't blame her.
“I can’t, but thanks for the offer,” it is her best attempt to be polite, so, before Alice could even open her mouth Agatha excuses herself and heads towards the building. She hears Jen saying something to Alice but she cannot hear what exactly and honestly doesn’t care that much. She doesn't want to do something with them after work hours (and, if she’s being honest, during the work hours too) and she’d made that very clear. They should know better.
Her classroom greets her with much needed silence. Compared to other teachers' classrooms it is not much decorated, the only colorful things are her students' drawings on the tables and some portraits of historical figures on the walls. She was there to teach, after all, not to decorate.
Agatha looked at the clock. She had ten minutes of silence before her first period. She sat at her desk, her belongings on the table and just stared at the empty seats. She finally felt a little bit of much needed peace and leaned against the back of the chair. At that moment she couldn’t even remember why she had fought with Billy. Why didn’t she support his decision? He wanted to be a historian, much like herself and it was somehow nice. But also painful.
She was a historian. She was a researcher. She had a future in science.
She gave that all up. Every day now she was in a classroom full of irritating teenagers that were bored with what she had to say. Billy never was, though. He was curious and clever, even as a little boy. So serious, asking her, alongside Nicky, all about the past.
Not many people in general cared about the past. Future was far more interesting. It was always promising and that fact alone hucked a lot of people up. Not many do realize that without learning about the past there is no future. That young man did, though.
Fuck, now she felt bad.
“Good morning Ms. Harkness!” the bell rang.
The teachers meeting after the first period meant two things for Agatha: inability to avoid her colleagues and potentially more paperwork to do. If she had a choice, she would settle for paperwork. But she doesn’t, so she greets Wanda and her husband, the only two people she doesn’t just tolerate, and takes a seat next to the woman.
She was friends with Wanda all throughout highschool and college. She was there for Wanda’s wedding as a bridesmaid, was there to greet her non-blood nephews and all other steps on the way and Wanda did the same thing - she was there, holding her hand when her son was born, then through Nicky’s sickness and her divorce. She was there when the storm had calmed down and it was just Agatha with a broken heart, empty home and a bunch of medical debt.
“Hello, my dear colleagues,” principal Calderu said, “Welcome back to school. I wish you a good and productive year,” Agatha worked here long enough to know that entrance in principle Calderu’s speeches never change, “I also want to introduce to you your new colleague Ms. Rio Vidal. As you all know Mrs. Davis is now retired,” fucking finally, “so Ms. Vidal is our new biology teacher. Please treat her kindly and respectful,” for a minute Agatha thought principal Calderu looked right into her eyes, “the second issue for today is,...” Agatha’s eyes landed on Ms. Vidal. Rio, she reminded herself, her name was Rio. She was a young woman, maybe in her early thirties. She wore a t-shirt with drawings of plants on it, and because of her short sleeves her tattoos were shoving off. And she had a lot of them. Agatha couldn’t tell what the drawings were, but her arms were almost fully cowered. Rio’s black hair was in a ponytail and her ear piercings were shining in the sun. She looked more like a really bad student who repeated twelve grade a little too many times than a teacher. Ridiculous, Agatha thought, she looks absolutely ridiculous.
She was so distracted staring at Rio she almost didn’t hear principal Calderu’s words. “Ms. Harkness you’re with Ms. Vidal.”
“Wait, what?” apparently she said it a little bit too loud, because all of her colleagues were now staring at her.
“You have a problem with that, Agatha?” principal Calderu asked, visibly annoyed.
“Can you repeat what exactly I am doing with ms. Vidal?”
“Cross-discipline project,” she said loudly and slowly, as if explaining something to a child, “You and Ms. Vidal have to find a way to combine your disciplines and make it interesting for kids to learn biology and history. Take a few kids who do care, make it an extra project for their college application or something. We are going to have a fair at the end of November. You will have your own stand and you’ll have to present. Any questions left?”
“Is it mandatory?”
“Yes. Moving on.”
“Un. Freaking. Believable,” hissed Agatha, trying her best to keep her voice down, “It is the stupidest shit so far I had to do at this job. And I pulled a small toy airplane out of the kid's ear once!” Wanda smiled, shaking her head in amusement.
“Look, Aggie, I know all this fairs and stuff is not what you love, but I actually think this will be good for you,” Agatha rolls her eyes both at the nickname and at what Wanda is actually saying, “You bond with some kids, work with a new person, maybe even befriend her,” yeah, as hell she would, “besides,” Wanda’s voice turns into a whisper, “you have to admit - she’s hot. At least you get to stare at a young attractive woman while you’re doing all the worst work in the world,” Agatha shakes her head.
“She looks like she had been on the rave up until the moment Lillia introduced her today. Not my type. I actually love a woman that knows how to dress,” Wanda smiles softly at her.
“Yeah, you keep telling yourself that.”
Talking to Billy after his class was probably the worst and the hardest decision Agatha had made in her life. She wasn’t going to apologize, God no, but she knew she had made a mistake. Billy was a good kid. And, if she wanted to major in something that Agatha could help him with, she would be the biggest idiot not to. Also, if he wouldn’t do this stupid project, no one would.
“So, college, huh,” she said awkwardly. Billy wasn’t looking at her, as he did previously during the whole period. They never fought before and Agatha felt herself shivering, not sure what exactly to do, “Look, you probably need extra stuff, if you want to get in. So, that is something I can help you with,” Billy finally looked at her, amazed.
“You’re going to help me? Why? I thought, I am an idiot.”
“So, in 1939…” they were sleeping. Whole class, on the first day. Agatha didn’t care, she was used to it. As long as no one was actually snoring it was fine. She stopped talking. No one even lifted their heads up, “Do you all know what you want to major in?” the question slipped out of her before she even thought about it. She wasn’t the type of teacher that asked about those things. The majority of people murmured “Nah” as an answer, “But you are planning to go to college?” they all nodded. Agatha hummed and continued her lesson.
“You know what they say, Teen - if you can’t fight chaos, be at the head of it. You’re stubborn, there is no way you’re going to change your mind,” she smiled at him softly and he looked satisfied with her response, “So, how about we mix some biology into your project?”