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Precocious	By : XxSwaggerMcJaggerxX Category: +M through R > Recess Views: 3538 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Recess and do not make a profit from this work.

Chapter List
- 11
- 12
- 13
There was a long list of places TJ would rather be on the weekend than the library, but with his dad being upset at his recent grades, he had to at least not come home with homework with less than a ‘B’ unless he wanted to be screamed at. Remembering the business card Mr. Dude gave him with his number, he asked the soon to be teacher to meet him at the local library.
He waited on the outside steps with his backpack next to him, watching for any cars to park nearby. When a vague familiar one finally did part and Dudikoff stepped out.
“I didn’t figure you for a kid who spends their weekends at the library,” he said as he approached.
“I don’t.” TJ stood up. “I need help with my homework, and I figured you’d be the best person to help me. Prickly helped me before, but he didn’t really teach me how to do it. And me and friends are kinda having a fight right now.”
“So I’m your last choice?”
“A little. You’re still gonna help me, right?”
“Yeah, yeah. What kind of teacher would I be if I didn’t help a student?” Dudikoff chuckled. “C’mon, Kid. Let’s see if we can get one of those private study rooms.”
Save for a few other people, the library was pretty empty, making every step, even on the carpeted floor, feel like it was louder than they needed to be. They found one of the study rooms and made themselves comfortable, with TJ sitting at the table, and Dudikoff testing out one of the dry erase markers to see if they still had any ink.
“Alright, so what’s first?” Franklin asked. “Anything in particular you’re having trouble with?”
“Math. I hate it.” He pushed over the textbook for Dude to see exactly what they were working on in class.
“Math tends to be the least favorite subject, I’m not surprised,” said Franklin. He glanced at the textbook, recognizing what he was going to teach today. “Okay, let’s get started. Take notes, Kid.”
Standing at the board, it was easy to slip into the same energy and enthusiasm that got him his degree. There wasn’t much in the way of item he could use to explain how fractions work, so he was left with drawing a circle on the white board. Franklin made a mental note to look for useful stuff he could use in his classroom. Sitting across the table from his ‘student’, he helped Detweiler work through the problems assigned, correcting him when he made a mistake.
He was happy to help the kid out with his homework and stuff, but Franklin would be a filthy liar if he said he didn’t expect more to happen during their first day together. He wasn’t going to push it, especially not in a library of all places, too risky.
Meanwhile, TJ was happy to have someone finally explain this stuff in a way that made sense to him. The last thing he needed was to bring home another bad grade to his dad. Prickly was nice and all, but he was a much better principal than he was a teacher. As he worked through a problem, confident that he could do it on his own, he felt a tap on his shoe. He didn’t think much of it, the desk wasn’t that big. The second and third time, however, he looked up at Dudikoff with a raised eyebrow.
“Are you playing footsies with me?” He asked.
“Maybe.” Franklin gave him a sly smile.
“Oh.” TJ erased what he last wrote. “Okay.”
He didn’t tap back. Rather, when Mr. Dude did it again, he responded with a full force kick to his shins. He kept his composure when the table rocked a bit from the force, continuing to focus on his homework. Franklin had to use every ounce of his self-control to keep from shouting from the pain and drawing attention to the two of them. He bit his lip, banging his tightly curled fist on the table, internally cursing up a storm.
“A ‘no’ would’ve sufficed,” Franklin groaned.
“I’m trying to do my homework, not get flirted with by a pervert,” TJ said, bluntly. He turned his notebook around for him to look at his work. “Did I do it right?”
Dudikoff let out a slow exhale from his nose to keep from loosing his cool. He looked over the work.
“Yep. You got it. Now do the rest on your own.” While he got his bearings, TJ worked on the rest of his math problems. So much for that. Maybe a different approach, after all, it wasn’t like the kid was against spending any time with him at all.
“Okay, I’m finished,” said TJ.
“Want me to look over it?” He asked.
“No. I want you to stop staring at me with that scheming look on your face,” TJ said as he put everything back in his back pack. “I figured you’d be better at keeping a straight face.”
“What can I say? It’s easy to slip up around you,” Franklin tried. TJ rolled his eyes. “What do you have planned for the rest of the day?”
“Dunno. Probably head home to clean my room or something. I’ll figure it out.”
“Surprised you didn’t say you were going to Prickly’s place.”
“Me too. But he’s visiting family and it would weird for him to show up with a kid that wasn’t his son,” TJ said.
“If you’ve got nowhere you’ve gotta be, you wanna go grab a burger or something? I’m starving and I know this great burger joint a little drive away from here,” he offered.
“Is this a date or something?”
“No, it’s just two guys grabbing something to eat,” said Franklin. “C’mon, you don’t pass up on free food.”
“Alright, fine. I’m kinda hungry, anyways.”
TJ followed him out of the library and to his car. Mr. Dude walked with a very minor limp from the kick he gave him earlier. TJ felt bad about it, but he genuinely wanted to focus on his homework and get it out of the way. He climbed into the passenger seat, settling in to enjoy the car ride.
“I’m sorry for kicking you,” TJ said. He watched the passing tree’s and buildings. “I forgot that getting kicked the shins hurts that bad.”
“Probably should’ve stomped down on my foot instead,” Franklin joked. “It’s alright, Squirt. I’ll survive.”
TJ nodded, and the rest of the ride was spent in silence. He was happy to spend time with Mr. Dude and everything, but today was one of those days he didn’t feel like talking if he didn’t have to. Thankfully, Dudikoff didn’t keep talking to make conversation, allowing him to just lean back and enjoy the ride across town.
“Pete said that when you get older, it get harder to eat greasy food like burgers,” TJ said. The restaurant Dude talked about so much was a diner. Sitting in the booth, a burger sat in front of each of them. “Is that true?”
“Oh yeah, definitely.” Dudikoff took a bite of his fries. “I used to eat here all the time, but not so much anymore. Stomach won’t let me. But it makes them more special when you do indulge in one.”
“That makes sense, I guess,” TJ mumbled. He ate a few fries, but his burger sat untouched.
“You gonna eat it or just stare it down?” Franklin asked.
“Sorry.” He took a hesitant bite.
“Well?”
“It’s good, I like it,” TJ said. “Better than Floppy Burger.”
“Told you.” Franklin wiped his mouth. “What’s with you, Kid?”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re real subdued today. Something buggin’ ya?” Dudeikoff asked.
TJ shrugged. “Me and my friends are having a fight right now.”
“Damn, that sucks. You wanna talk about it?” He offered.
“Is it really that bad if I don’t feel like making any plans for a while? It’s not like we even need them right now!” TJ huffed. “I told them I don’t feel like it and they act like I’m crazy. I’ll get back to it next week or whatever, but not right now. They don’t know how much work it takes to make those plans, anyways.”
“You sure it’s not because you don’t want to get in trouble with Pete?” Dude teased.
“Maybe a little. But I need a break sometimes, and now I’m the bad guy and they won’t talk to me,” he said. “Whatever.”
“Are you taking a break or are you losing interest in doing it at all?”
“It’s a break. Everyone needs breaks, right? I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of doing that stuff,” TJ said.
“You never know, Kid. You might lose interest in it one day,” Franklin explained. “I’m not saying it will happen, but it can, and that’s okay. But it sounds you’re right and you just need a little vacation from it all. Maybe this weekend will give everyone time to calm down and you can tell them what you just told me. They’ll understand.”
“You think so?”
“Yeah. You all will be fine. A disagreement like this isn’t gonna break your group up,” he said. “You finished eating?”
TJ nodded, and quickly ate the last of his fries before standing from the booth. He followed Dude to the front to pay, and outside back into his car. He slipped back into that silence as the travelled back. Right about now, he could go for a nap, but his favorite napping buddy was M.I.A., and he wasn’t too curious about what Dudikoff’s house looked like.
“Anything else you want to do?” Franklin asked. “We’ve got the whole day if you want.”
“I’m fine. I just wanna go home,” said TJ. “Thanks, though.”
“No problem, Kid. Just let me know if I’m going in the right direction.”
TJ nodded. Today just didn’t feel like a good day. To prove that point, he spotted his friends walking down the street, without him of course. He took a deep breath and slouched in his seat. As soon as he got in his room, he was going to kick off his shoes, toss off his jacket, and curl up in bed, using Pete’s blazer as a blanket.
“Hey.” TJ turned back after stepping out of the car. “Remember, you can call me if you need anything, alright, Squirt?”
“Yeah. Thanks for the help and the food,” he said. “See you later.”
Dudikoff waited until the kid went inside before driving off. The whole issue with his friends was clearly still bugging the kid, but he wasn’t going to push him to talk about it when clearly wasn’t in the mood for it. All he could do for now was hope the kid knew he was available to talk to whenever he was ready.
- 11
- 12
- 13
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Precocious