You have brains in your head -Oliver-

[CASPER JARED THORNE]

Casper sat down in Mae's cafe. He nursed a hot cup of chai tea in his hands, trying to warm himself up, but stupidly Casper had sat down where the draft from the door was hitting the back of his legs. He should have thought a little more before he flopped his rather tired body down into one of the closest chairs. Casper takes the delightfully cinnamon smelling tea up to his lips. Softly, and slowly, he took a sip.

He was waiting for - he checked his phone, which of course had been programmed to have his calendar on it - Oliver Trent. As soon as he saw the name, he remembered why he was here. He was here to chat with Mr Trent, about the physics position. Though Casper was decent enough at physics, but it wasn't his strongest subject. He was at that time teaching all sciences, but he didn't want to keep doing so. It was tiring, and the marking was tedious.

His strongest one was probably Biology or Computer Science. Actually, Computing Science was definitely his strongest. Letting the hot water slide down his throat he relaxed, his scarf keeping him warm, as he had thrown the parka he usually wore on the back of the chair, though he was seriously thinking about putting it back on.

He placed the mug back down, and ran his fingers around the rim of the mug, and sighed. He shouldn't have gotten there so early. He just was quite obsessive over times, and meetings. He liked to be on time. He checked the time on his phone, before putting it in his pocket. He ruffled his hair, which after he did so, made him feel rather annoyed.

He'd spent ages making his hair at least a little tame, and now he probably looked as if he had walked through a hedge backwards again. He heard the door open, and turned around to check whether it was Mr Trent or not, when it wasn't him, he sighed and turned back to his drink.

title from Dr. Seuss

[OLIVER BARTHOLOMEW TRENT]

Oliver had tried before to get a job at the academy, with very little luck so far. The school could afford to hire the best and brightest, so why hire him. He got it. Really. But he couldn't stop trying. He wanted his son Michael to have the best possible future, and if taught at Rosewood Academy, then his son could go for free. He liked teaching at Rosewood High, but it just didn't have the same benefits, and as a single dad, he needed all the help he could get.

This wasn't even a real interview, more of an informal discussion about the job and if there were really openings in the guys department. Was he the head or something? Oliver couldn't remember. He wasn't sure what to wear, so he threw on jeans with nice shoes, a button down shirt and a jacket. That was laid back but professional, right?

He waited for the sitter to show up and then went on his way to Mae's. He went in and noticed a man that fit the photo online at the RWA website. "Mr. Thorne?" Oliver asked, double checking.

[CASPER JARED THORNE]

Casper stood up at the sound of his name, “Yes, I am Mr Thorne, I am to assume that you are Mr. Trent” he smiled, holding out his hand. He waited for Mr Trent to shake his hand. Casper quickly added “and please, call me Casper, Mr Thorne is too stuffy” he chuckled. He shivered slightly as the cold air came through the door, and pulled the sleeves of his cardigan – a dark green one that day – over his hands to try and keep a little warmer, he wished he'd worn jeans, maybe they would have been comfier than his dark dress pants.

“You teach Physics at the local High School, right?” he asked to confirm. He sat back down, and gestured for Oliver to sit, “would you like a drink or anything?” he asked Oliver, looking for an available waitress. He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose before he smiled brightly.

“It's always nice to talk to a fellow science teacher” he chuckled, and as he did so, his long fingers reached to take off his scarf and fling it on the back of his chair with his coat. He took a sharp intake of breath as his nails caught the skin on his neck.

“Was there anything you wanted to talk about?” he asked him, staring through his glasses at his companion. The man was good looking, and Casper could see that, but he wasn't here for personal reasons and Casper wasn't sure he was gay or even bisexual, his clothes didn't really shout out 'gay' but then again, you couldn't really tell from someone's clothing. Once or twice Casper had been told he dressed like an old man.

outfit

[OLIVER BARTHOLOMEW TRENT]

First names worked better for him anyway, "Oliver," he said with a smile, taking the seat across from Casper. He was quite young looking really, maybe it was the boyish mop of hair. "A cup of coffee, thanks," he said to a waitress as she stopped by the table. He could use a second cup. He hadn't slept so well the night before given the fact it had been storming and Mike, like most little kids, was afraid of thunder.

"Yeah, I do," Oliver said with a nod. "And yeah, nice to meet you too." He said. Of course RWA was a much better school, with much better teachers, but they were both teachers so that sort of put them on the same level.

"Oh, well mostly I'm trying to gte a position at RWA if I can, generally whatever openings there are get filled very quickly with top people, which I understand of course." Oliver said. "I guess I was just hoping you could tell me about the school and the science department, and if there are any positions that might open up."Oliver leaned his back against the chair, reaching for his recently arrived coffee and sipped it slowly.

"Don't get me wrong, I love teaching at public school, I'm just a single dad, and I could get more out of being at RWA."

[CASPER JARED THORNE]

“Great, Oliver” he grinned, and itched at the back of his neck. He watched as the other man took the seat across from him, which was the most obvious choice of seating. He was almost a little disappointed when he ordered a cup of coffee, he had kind of hoped that he'd be a tea drinker like him. Casper never drunk that stuff, he thought tea was much tastier. He sipped at the his drink again, before clearing his throat to begin speaking.

“How are the students there?” he asked, “I mean behaviour wise” he added after a moment. He wondered if they were well behaved like the RWA students generally were, or rowdy and misbehaved. Casper honestly couldn't say he knew. Because he simply didn't.

Casper nodded at Oliver, “What did you teach at RW High School?” he asked, he knew he taught science, but he wasn't sure whether like him, he taught all of them, or whether he specialised. “I can definitely tell you about the science department, and the positions” he paused and took another small sip of his drink, making it last. "Have you tried out for a position before?" he questioned wondering.

“I understand, RWA offers great scholarships for those directly related to the teachers” he nodded, not that he was a dad. He wished he had a little boy or girl to depend on him, but he hadn't found someone to share that with. “RWA is a fantastic place to work” he eventually said. He wondered what the younger man's child was like. "Your a single dad? Where's your partner?" he asked before he could stop himself. "Sorry" he quickly apologized. "That was really forward for me to ask" he said, hoping he hadn't overstepped the mark.

[/size]

[OLIVER BARTHOLOMEW TRENT]

Oliver leaned back in his chair and sipped his coffee. "The students? They're good, I mean, they're teenagers so you gotta keep them interested but nothing stands out." He thought a moment. "In a small,quiet town like this, most people are relaxed and some hate how quiet it is."

Casper probably didn't have to deal with that at RWA. Of course, kids were kids, but everyone there was probably snobby, had things handed to them and were over achievers with a lack of personality. Just like one would think public school students were slackers. Neither assumption was probably true. "What about your students?" Oliver asked him.

"I teach physics," Oliver said, "Though I can teach other sciences, I'm licensed for them. Physics just is my specialty." Oliver had always liked science, he wasn't sure what got him started, no one thought he'd be the type, given his enthusiasm for working out, girls and the coast guard. "I've looked into them but never applied before. I've been in the area for about two years now."

And then Casper asked the inevitable question, more bluntly than other perhaps, but it was a familiar question. Oliver looked into his coffee cup for a moment, but decided to answer with a simple, "My wife passed away." He couldn't bring himself to say that she got depressed and drowned by accident. Oliver still felt somehow responsible for her death.

[CASPER JARED THORNE]

Casper nodded and listened to what Oliver was saying. “Very true” he murmured in agreement. “So not too many behaviour problems?” he asked, Casper wanted to get a grips on how the kids at Rosewood High acted. He couldn't say he really knew, having taught at RWA and gone straight back to teach – well he'd headed off to the big technology places first, but it had been too much of a hassle, and the temptation to hack into the system too great. Casper tried not to hack. It wasn't the done thing, but it felt so... good. He breathed out softly.

“Most of them are all good, some fall behind, but I do as much as I can too help them keep up, you get a couple of students who think they are above you because of who their parents are” he shrugged, overall the students were decently behaved, but good behaviour was an expectation there. “Physics is a good subject to specialise in, I specialised in Computing Science with Biology as a minor, and got stuck teaching Biology” he chuckled, as much as he loved teaching Biology, Computing was his real passion.

Though because of unfortunate circumstances, Casper had been asked to take on more classes, mostly because the last physics teacher was now on maternity leave and had very recently told Casper she did not want to return. So until he found a replacement, he had been asked to teach. Not that he minded, he just wasn't as strong on Physics as he was with other subjects. “There is an opening” he told Oliver after a long sip of his tea. He was coming to the end of his cup and he looked at the last dregs almost sadly. “In physics I mean, we have a position available, of course you would have to apply and go through in interview process” he said waving his hands in the air.

“Oh” he mumbled, “I'm sorry” he apoligized, “I shouldn't have asked like that, it was totally rude of me” he added, he didn't want to be rude, but he felt like he had already put his foot in it. “How old's your child?” he asked, not sure what else to ask, he wanted to ask 'how long ago' but he felt that would have been insensitive.

[/size]

[OLIVER BARTHOLOMEW TRENT]

"Not more than expected with teenagers," Oliver shrugged. He'd been a handful in high school, he understood the principle. Mostly the students respected him, maybe because they knew he was a Coast Guard, tattooed man and a pretty relaxed teacher. He figured being a guy they could look up to got better results than being their best friend or worst nightmare. He didn't have to deal with students who thought they were better than him (and might be right) but every school had people who thought they ruled the world.

Oliver nodded. "I liked math, so I like the sciences that involve it... I suppose Computer Science does too, but I never had a chance to get into that, so I stuck with physics." At the mention of biology, he got quiet. He met Lucy in his college bio class...Even after all this time, it still hurt him to think of her. He had counted on forever with her.

"He's three," Oliver said with a smile. He didn't want to keep talking about Lucy and assuring him that it was alright. Mikey was much easier to talk about. "Do you have any kids?"

[CASPER JARED THORNE]

“I like teaching teenagers, I can't imagine teaching younger kids or other adults” he told Oliver, and gave him a bright smile. "Well then again, I never tried" he shrugged. He grabbed his empty mug and held it out to the waitress “Another please” he asked, and then turned his attention to Oliver again. He didn't look like the kind of man who wanted to teach science, but who was Casper to judge. He liked talking to a fellow scientist.

“Math can be pretty cool, some of the more complicated formulas still avoid me” he chuckled. He had problem understanding some of it, but he got enough for him to get by in his job and with his computers. “Science is great however” he smiled, and took the cup of tea from the waitress. He placed the cup to his lips and gently blew on the liquid. It was far to hot to drink for now, but he settled for breathing in the soothing smell of tea.

“Three, that sounds like a great age, I'll be he's adorable” Casper chuckled, he did love kids. Casper ran his fingers around the mug, “I don't have kids” he sighed, he wanted them. He did. “Haven't had a steady girlfriend – or boyfriend for that matter” he told Oliver, He did love children, he found them fun to be around, and it did sadden him that he didn't have children.

[OLIVER BARTHOLOMEW TRENT]

Oliver nodded lightly. He didn't really have the degrees to teach older kids, and he liked being real and that was harder with little kids. Granted, he loved his son and being with him, but that was entirely different. "I'll have a refill too." He told her. "Decaf." He clarified.

"I though most of computing was math..." Oliver said at the risk of sounding stupid, but he was sure he was right on that, maybe you didn't have to be a total math genius to understand computers. It didn't really matter. Oliver just liked math with a purpose.

He chuckled, "Better than 2." He said with a smile. Not that Mikey was a terrible toddler, but he liked to watch his boy grow and be able to talk with him. He fell silent when Casper said he didn't have kids, and that he was bi-- almost in the same breath. He just nodded. Oliver understood lonliness but he wasn't available for Casper.

[CASPER JARED THORNE]

Casper smiled at Oliver and then chuckled bashfully. “Quite a bit, but I understand that stuff, it's the physics formulas I don't get.” he rubbed the back of his neck, there had been times when his lack of... appreciation... for maths had hindered him, but he spent time at it and made sure that he could understand what he needed to, in order to move on.

But he often preferred tinkering with the electrics and coding. “Besides I mostly enjoy making the computers from scratch” he chuckled. Casper was pretty nifty at making computers. Casper smiled at Oliver's comment about 3 being better than 2. “Is he a pretty mischievous boy or is he pretty well behaved?” Casper asked.

At Oliver's lack of response, he thought about over his last comment, “I totally wasn't making a pass at you” he quickly told Oliver, then blushed “I mean you're hot, but obviously not bi or gay” he blurted out and then shook his head. “I'm sorry. Didn't mean to say that” he took a sip of his new cup of tea. “But, yea. I don't have kids. I love children though – think there are absolutely adorable” he smiled trying to cover his slightly embarassing moment.

[OLIVER BARTHOLOMEW TRENT]

Oliver just nodded. Building computers from scratch? Oliver had been the kind of kid who liked to take things apart to see how they worked, but the only thing he could really build was a car-- but never from absolute scratch. He just nodded, trying to be polite, not sure of what to say.

"Oh you know, he's a little boy, he's both." Oliver said. Mikey was his son through and through, playful and tested the boundaries, but always with a sense of duty at the end of the day.

Oliver chuckled when Casper said he wasn't making a pass, though he was hot. "Well, thanks." he said. Oliver wasn't homophobic, he'd been trying to teach his son that love was the important part. Being a parent, he wasn't to be open minded, if only for his son's sake. But he didn't really understand gay or bi people since he himself was very straight.

As much as he liked discussing kids, the point here was the job, right? Oliver cleared his throat and sipped his coffee. "So what can you tell me about the school, the job opening...?" Oliver asked. Was it worth his while to switch schools?