It was just a typical day in Marleyport. It was freezing, and the bright white clouds had faded to a dull grey colour now.
The roaring of car engines was a regular occurrence in the neighbourhood, but more specifically, this street.

Yes, 134 Lamforth Street was the home of our leading lad—Mr. Aahan Patel.
A thirty one year old single man—a title often used by his parents.

His feet crushed the grass beneath them as he sprinted across Mrs Wolebee's front lawn, taking extra care when he approached her lillies.
He leapt over them, his foot brushing against, but not damaging, a couple in the process.

"Oh, 'ello!
What's got you all excited then, Aahan?", questioned a red-haired woman across the road.

Jane Hall-Oversam.
Her bright red-hair was a stark contrast to her warm hazel eyes.
Her ruby red lips were always coated in lipstick and lip gloss to stay that colour, but upon closer inspection, you could see the faint lines from where she had been biting her bottom lip too much.
She always did that when she was worried or stressed.

That summed up Jane pretty well.
She wore bright clothes to match her bright smile and she always accessorised with a scarf, but even she couldn't keep up the happy-go-lucky act all the time.

At thirty three, she recently split up with her husband of ten years, and lost her children in the custody battle.
She missed out on a promotion at her office job, and spends her free time organising the tin cans in her cupboards.
Then she puts the kettle on and drinks two cups of strong tea before binge-watching a tv series she's already seen about fifty times.

"I got the job!", replied Aahan.

Jane's face lit up, and she grinned, before throwing her arms in the air.

"That's fantastic, Aahan!
Pop 'round mine later and I'll make you my famous cheesy pasta bake."

Never eat Jane's cheesy pasta bake.

It takes like already chewed cardboard.

But she means well.

When Aahan finally made it to his house, he was greeted by an angry looking man.
He had white strands of hair just above his ears, and a small mole on his right cheekbone.

"Aahan, yah kya samay hai?
Tumhaaree maan chintit thee!", he snapped.

"I'm not even that late!
Maaji knew I was staying with a friend for a few weeks, why is she worried?"

"Aahan, you know how your mother is", replied Aahan's father.

"I have great news to share.
I–"

"Mera bacha!", exclaimed a woman who was standing behind Aahan's father.

She had jet black hair, but grey peaked through just a little.
The grey strands seemed to sparkle a little when the light caught them.

She wrapped her arms around Aahan and started swaying from side to side.

Aahan chuckled.
"Maaji, I'm ok!
I actually have some n–"

"Come, come inside!
We have news for you!"

Aahan raised an eyebrow at this, but instead of asking questions, he let his curiosity get the better of him, and he walked inside the house.

In the living room, there was a woman standing up.
She had jet black hair that reached her knees, and it was styled into a half-up half-down style.
She had a blue saari on.

"Uh...hello?"

The woman turned around, and Aahan's eyes widened.
She broke out into a bright smile when Aahan's jaw dropped.

"Davkha?", he cried out, before extending his arms out and walking towards her.
"Oh my gosh, when did you get here?"

Davkha smiled and hugged her brother back, gently tapping him on the back three times—something he used to do as a soothing gesture for her when they were younger.

"Last night.
I was just going to stay in a hotel but Maaji said no."

"I'm not having my little girl staying in a hotel when there is a bed here!"

"What are you doing here?", he asked.

Their mother beamed.
"She's getting–"

"To spend some time with my big brother!", interjected Davkha, before giving her mother a discreet head shake.

"Hey listen, I read your latest book.
It's really good, Davi!", complimented Aahan.

"Aww, thanks, Aahan!"

"And tell him about your nursing job, betee", said their father.

"It's going really well.
They're talking about promoting me."

"That's amazing, Davkha!
Actually, I actually start my new job tomorrow."

"Oh wow, really?"

"Hai, they're letting you be a teacher? Why didn't you say?", asked their mother.

"Well I did try to, but no, I'm still a supply teacher, remember?"

Their mother's smile faltered, and they just nodded.

"You know what?
I actually have to go... Jane needed to see me about something."

"Can't she wait?
You haven't seen your sister in years!", exclaimed their father.

"I'm sorry, I promised."

◆◆◆

A tall man with reddish brown hair walked down the corridor with Aahan. He had a black suit on with a dark blue tie to accompany it.

"So, this will be your classroom for the next–well, hopefully not too long", said the man, before gasping.
"Oh!
Sorry, no, not that you're an imposition... we just hope that
Mr. More makes a full recovery."

Michael Rogerson had only recently been appointed Head Teacher, and it was safe to say that he was very much out of his depth.

"Actually, I used to go here!", revealed Aahan.
"Back when it was just a secondary school though.
I believe it became a sixth form a year after I left actually."

"Oh, nice.
I actually attended a school in Moorside", said Michael.
"A lot of schools in Marleyport weren't up to scratch when I was younger."

Aahan furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.
Hang on, this man didn't look much older than him.
So was he really looking down on those who were educated in Marleyport?

"Anyway, your class actually starts in a few minutes!
I'm afraid you have quite a busy day today, so a full tour will have to wait."

Michael made a beeline for the classroom, but Aahan held his hand out.
Worried that may be been rude, he coughed to clear his throat and gave Michael a nervous smile.

"Uh, so sorry, it's just... I'd like to introduce myself on my own, if that's alright?
Just to put them at ease."

Michael nodded and gestured for him to enter the classroom.
"Of course, go ahead."

◆◆◆

Aahan stepped into the classroom and immediately felt chills run through his body.
Twenty four pairs of eyes were looking up at him.

He felt a sinking feeling in his stomach, which he tried to ignore, but the closer he got to his desk, the more intense the stares felt.

"Hi, Sir", said a girl at the front of the class.

She had brunette hair and expressive almond eyes.
Her fair skin complimented her hair.

Marleyport schools used to enforce a uniform policy, but in recent years, they had adopted the no uniform policy of their neighbouring town Moorside.

She had a maroon cropped jacket on, with a deep purple top underneath it. Her denim jeans had rips in the kneecap areas, and were decorated with hand-embroidered stars on the waistband.

"I'm Eloise.
Just thought you should know that Mr. More never took attendance online, so he'd always get one of us to get the register sheet from reception.
I can go if you like?"

Aahan looked up at Eloise, and was taken aback by the girl's bright smile. Something about it reassured him, and he felt a little more confident.

"Uh, yes, that would be great.
Thank you, Eloise.
My name is Mr. Patel, and I'll be your history teacher whilst Mr. More is recovering", he said.

"What happened to him?", asked a boy at the back of the class.
He had ginger hair that reached his chin.

"Oh, I'm afraid I don't know.
And even if I did, I wouldn't be at liberty to d–"

"He probably did his back in trying to do some old woman from the Bingo", joked a boy sitting a few desks away from Eloise.

A few students snickered, whilst others full on belly-laughed.
Eloise and a few others just stayed quiet.

"Hey!
That's not really–"

Aahan was cut off by the door opening. A girl with sleek jet black hair walked into the room.
She had grey top on that had
'PUNK ROCK PLUMS'
on it—a band from Marleyport that mainly produced underground music.

"Is there any reason why you're late?", asked Aahan.

"Got the register", she said, holding it out for him to take.

"Right... thank you", he said, before taking it.
"What's your name, sorry?"

"Zee."

Aahan nodded.
"Well, Zee, I hope being late isn't a regular occurrence for you."

The boy on the desk behind Eloise snorted, but quickly looked down to hide the expression on his face.
When Zee walked to her seat, she gave his foot a swift kick.

Aahan looked at the sheet of paper, his eyes widening a little when he noticed a sheet of paper under it.
It was a poster advertising the
Teacher Of The Year Award, a prestigious award given at the annual gala which was scheduled to be held at Marleyport this year.

An award was just the thing Aahan needed to make his parents proud of his career choice.

He held the poster up in the air, unintentionally looking like Rafiki holding up Simba in The Lion King.

"This award is the perfect opportunity for me!
We'll be seeing a lot of each other, so this could also be a good bonding exercise for us", he said.

"Yeah... hard pass", said a boy at the back of the class.

"Yeah, I'm with Elliot", said another boy.

"Bonding sounds great, but I'm really just trying to pass this class", said Eloise. "I'm with Elliot and Spencer."

"Ok, but let's be real for a second, you're really just trying to pass every class at this point", teased Elliot, earning a playful eye roll from Eloise.

"D*mn, didn't need to cut that deep, Elliot", she replied, a laugh escaping her lips.

"Please guys!", pleaded Aahan.

Ok, at this point he may have forgotten he was trying to earn these kids' respect, but he would literally grovel if he had to.

"Awards are dumb", said Zalim.

Atlas furrowed his eyebrows at this, contemplating her words.

"Nah, I don't think awards are dumb. They mark special achievements.
Isn't it good to know what you did well?"

Zalim shrugged.
"What matters are the good things you did, not the shiny piece of metal that came after it."

◆◆◆

With none of his classes taking him up on his offer, a dejected Aahan made his way back home.

It was a long shot, and he knew it, but he was just desperate.
Perhaps he was overreacting though.

Aahan unlocked his front door to find boxes littering the hallway.
He ventured further into the house and saw his mother ironing some saaris.

"Maaji, what's all this?"

"Aahan!", exclaimed his mother.

A few seconds later, she grabbed Davkha's hand and dragged her into the hallway, her happy expression different to the nervous look on her daughter's face.

"Davkha, tell your brother the news!"

"Uh... I was going to tell you yesterday, but I wasn't sure how to."

"Tell me what?"

"I'm... getting married."

His mother let out a high-pitched squeal, but Aahan was still trying to process the news.
It felt like only yesterday he was walking her to her friends houses when she was afraid to walk alone, or helping her with homework.

"Wh-what?"

"And your brothers and sister are flying in tomorrow!", exclaimed their mother. "They're staying with us until the wedding!"

If the wedding revelation hit Aahan like a punch to the gut, then the news of his siblings coming felt like he had been thrown at the wall.

His other siblings, they were all coming?
His older sister Yuvati, the sucessful owner of an accounting firm?
His older brothers Aadi, Aadit and Ganesh, the lawyers?

Then there was him.

The supply teacher.

"Aahan?
Have you frozen or something?", chuckled Davkha.
"You are happy for me, aren't you?"

"Wait... there's no rush is there?
I mean, how long have you known this man?"

"We've been together for five years, Bhaiya", replied Davkha.

Aahan's eyes widened.
"You have?
I-I didn't know."

Davkha shrugged.
"We haven't really spoken much these last few years.
But I'm really glad that I can spend more time with you now.
Thank you for letting me stay."

When he looked at his little sister's bright eyes, he couldn't help but grin. He pulled her in for a hug, resting his chin on top of her head.

"Of course, Davi.
I'm really happy you're staying too."

"Right, well, Aahan... go and make space in your room.
Your sisters are sleeping there", instructed their mother.

"Oh!
Why can't they stay in the guest room?"

"Because your brothers will be sleeping there, silly!"

"Wait... where am I going to sleep?"

Their mother gestured to the sofa in the living room.

"There's plenty of space here!"

◆◆◆

As he walked into the school, Aahan silently prayed that atleast one of his classes changed their mind about helping him.

He wasn't sure if he could bare his parents gushing over his siblings' many achievements, whilst secretly wishing he had ended up like them.

"Shut your d*mn mouth!", exclaimed a familiar voice.

What followed was a serious of gasps, which made Aahan pick up the pace. When he made it to his classroom, he was stunned by what he saw.

The entire class gathered in a circle, and were watching Eloise attempt to pin another classmate down.
She sprawled her legs out so that they were trapping his, and she reached for his hair.
Not even a minute later, a small clump of ginger hair was in her hands.

"What the h*ll is going on?", shouted Aahan.

The room fell silent, and a red-faced Eloise looked up at Aahan.
The boy squirmed, and Eloise got off him, but not before rolling her eyes.

"I don't hear any explanations", said Aahan.

Aahan turned to the boy expectantly, but he just shrugged and looked down. Almost instantly, an idea popped into Aahan's head.

It was ludicrous —borderline cruel even, but it was his best chance at getting that award.

"I could always go to the Head Teacher's office and report this–"

"No!", exclaimed Eloise, before frowning.
"Please don't", she pleaded, her voice suddenly quieter.

Aahan folded his arms.

"Right then.
If you don't want me to report this, then I'm going to need some help from you."

"What kind of help?", asked a girl with dark brown hair and a front fringe.

Aahan remembered Atlas addressing her as 'Irene.'

"You're going to help me win that Teacher of The Year award."

________________

Hi!

I know this chapter is quite long, but I wanted to set the story up.

The actual chapters will most likely be much shorter, and I want to write it in a sitcom style, so a lot of the plot points will be resolved in the same chapter. Character development and relations will most likely be gradual though.

This will be published the day after Christmas, but I know some people are a few hours behind my timezone, so this might end up being published on Christmas for them.

Please make sure you do the connections soon! I know everyone's busy because of Christmas and just the holidays in general, but I'm just asking because I can't write anymore without them. Of course, relaxing and spending time with your family always comes first, but this is just a reminder for when you're free!

And whether you celebrate Christmas or not, I hope you're having a great day/night!

I also want to highlight that although the class is important, we'll be following a lot more of Aahan's life. In a nutshell, every character Aahan meets at the school teaches him a lesson of some kind, and that includes the students.

That doesn't mean the students aren't important! In fact, they play a big role in helping Aahan. We'll also explore their own individual storylines too.

What are your thoughts on this chapter?

HINDI TRANSLATIONS:
I used Google Translate for the hindi parts, so it might not be completely accurate!

Aahan, yah kya samay hai?
Tumhaaree maan chintit thee!: Aahan, what time is it? Your mother was worried.

Mera bacha: My child.

Maaji: Mother.

Bhaiya: Brother.

starryeyedturtle

DoodleYeet

LeMystical-Puffle

1-800-SHAWNHUNTER-

Tornado-Jockey