Divided We Stand: Ackley Bridge

...1...

It was a Friday evening and everyone was going home Martin had tests to mark and he had decided to stay over for the hour until six. He entered his classroom to find Mr. Hussain standing by his desk.

"Hey what yeah doing here?" He asked while sitting down on his armchair.

"I came here to say thank you, for what you did with the Rugby team- girls team." He clarified.

"Oh, that was nothing."

"No, boss," he said mockingly with a breathy laugh. "If it weren't for you I would have never got my students into the Charity Event. They have a chance of a lifetime in there. All superficials of Rugby and other sports are coming to watch it!"

"See you are actually serious with something."

"Thank you, anyways see you tomorrow." Mr. Hussain exited Martin's classroom with a small wave. Martin liked his new attitude towards school and he felt a little bit guilty on saying he was incompetent. But really, Mr. Hussain wasn't the type of teacher to change his fun attitude until he was called a loser and a bad teacher, he really got fired up at that.  

After six he drove into his car and got a phone call by his wife.

"Hey love, are you done?" she asked.

"Yeah I am, need me to get anything?"

"Bread and milk, please about to finish and for sure the milk has gone sour."

"Alright, and how are you doing?"

"Pretty good, I actually found a few names for our little nugget!"

"What?" Martin asked with a smile.

"Well, we did have a small vote-"

"Without me?!"

"NO! It didn't count, but the winner was Samantha- I love the name too!"

"Wait..... Samantha?" a smack of air hit his throat.

"Yes, I love it! So do the girls, how do you think it would be for our baby... huh?"

"Look, Ummm... I have a student named Samantha, seems a little weird."

"that's why your not naming her Samantha? Huh!"

"No Trix, I didn't mean that!"

"That's bullshit and no I will now name her Samantha!"

She quickly hung up the phone, Trixy his wife was like that. She was short-tempered sometimes acted like a kid and it was tiring making it up to her whenever she got angry.

He had driven into the parking lot of Shopper Drug Mart. He got out of his car and walked into it. After he was done finding the milk and the eggs, he walked into the baby section to get a hold of some pampers her date was two weeks from now so he was very nervous and excited.  

He saw a certain redhead with a baby car seat with a young toddler in it. 

"Sam, what are you doing here?" 

"Hey, sir. Babysitting, Candice was on her job and she didn't want to leave Jamie alone, so she asked me to care for him."

"Really?" He asked with a small caress on the baby's red cheek.

"So how is your wife doing?"

"She's good," he said with a nod of his head. 

"And what are you gonna name the girl when it comes? HUH?" She asked curiously.

"Gonna go home and vote, anyways you doing your homework?"

She stayed quiet for a little while, "yeah." She said finally nodding.

"Sam, you need to understand, now it's time for you to step up your game, you've made it to B-Levels. In Social and Science, your LA and Mathematics are still a little left behind, in these five weeks you've had utter improvement. If you keep trying harder every day you can come to Dash two."

"Thanks for the lecture Mr. Evershed-"

"Don't just say thanks, heed on it."

"Yeah, I guess it's not a choice for me anymore."

"It should have never been a choice-"

"But it was and there's no denying on that." He knew she was talking about her mother, and her mother never being there and her being a street thug until her grandpa coming out of nowhere. And then her mother's bail. 

He felt nice seeing Sam free of all her chains, seeing her acting with actual integrity or at least he hoped that.

"And how's Rugby going?" He asked getting out of his trance, which he didn't know he was in one and she was completely ignorant to that fact as well.

"It's actually going amazing, I had to say thanks-"

"Don't you dare, like fifteen people came up to me saying thank you!"

"Well you do deserve it," she said with a smile.

"It wasn't just me who asked the superficials of sports in this town. It was also Mrs. Carter give her some credit as well."

"Yeah, you are right we need her."

"Oh don't speak rubbish Miss Oaks is just as amazing!"

She shook her head with a small smile someone would give to if another person didn't know something really important, the oh-your-so-innocent-you've-became-dumb type of smile.

"Did she do something to you?"  

"She's dating Corry," the words escaped her mouth and Martin almost jumped at how terrifyingly calm Sam was talking for what she said.

"What?" 

"Yeah, it what it is," Sam said casually.

"That's the truth right?"

"No lie, saw them kissing in her car by the Acklet Market, beside my hostel."

"Sam, are you saying this just to get Corry in trouble?"

"Mr. Evershed I am FUCKING gay."

"So do you like Mrs. Oaks-"

"Mr. Evershed!! You know this has nothing to do with me."

"Okay I am sorry, it's just so unbelievable!"

"I really don't understand how you can't understand any of the signs, she always keeps Corry back when isolation is over. He stops to talk to her."

"But like a few weeks ago she was reminding me about the safeguards."

"What for? What did you do?"

"No nothing," he said suddenly he could feel blood rush to his face. 

"What is it, did you accidentally-"

"No it was nothing, just I stayed door-shut in your hostel."

"When?"

"The first time you gotta hostel." He covered his dry throat with a layer of thick saliva feeling very uncomfortable at the current topic.

"That's not that bad, she is such a hypocrite."

"She is, but don't talk to her like that, she's your teacher." He suddenly felt angry at Mrs. Oaks, he was suddenly so fired up.

How dare she send reminders of safeguards when she's not heading on them at all?