Chapter Text
As an attempt to boost student participation, Greendale had its very own system for awarding extra credit. And while school regulation allowed the faculty to manage their credits freely, it also allowed students to assist certain teachers after school in exchange for an increase in their grades. Not many teachers signed up for that last option.
Riley Anderson had always been a big fan of extra credit and anything else that would make her university application stand out. Being an over-achiever is what got her into university, earned her a law degree, and a good job at a prestigious law firm. But its also what got her in Greendale. And more specifically, in the Human Sciences building.
In her carefully coordinated outfit – matching backpack included -, Riley knocks on the door of Greendale’s one and only psychology professor’s office. And despite her pearly-white smile, she genuinely wished she were more excited for the new school year. And if her first two weeks at Greendale were anything to go by, things could certainly get much, much worse.
At the lack of a response, Riley knocks on the door for a second time, now a little harder. Maybe professor Duncan was busy taking care of a student. In that case, Riley didn’t want to interrupt. Who knows, maybe Duncan was a good professional, even if he was a less-than-average professor.
That hopeful shred of doubt quickly dissipates at the sight of Ian, rushing his way through the hall with a briefcase in his hand.
“Miss Anderson.” He greets her while fumbling through his pockets for his keys “I apologize for my tardiness. It took me longer than expected to find an empty parking spot.”
“I thought faculty had their own parking.”
“Yes, well, Greendale is lending parking lot n°3 to the Air Conditioning repair School faculty for the duration of their coffee break room’s extension. The Dean just forgot to inform me of that.”
He finally finds his keys – they were in his briefcase, not his pocket -, and opens the door to reveal his office. Riley can’t help but chuckle at all the vintage memorabilia and the eccentric décor of the place.
“Is that… is that a fax machine?” She asks as Duncan made his way to his chair. He quickly turns around to take a look at his unused fax machine before sighing and sitting down.
“Yes. Yes, it is. Make yourself comfortable, Miss Anderson.” He gestures to the small blue couch that was partially occupied by library books and some… mandala printouts. She is visibly intrigued by all the different plants, masks and paintings Duncan owned. Not to mention the stacks of books and papers. There wasn’t a lot of room to make herself comfortable in, but she kindly takes a seat and waits for Duncan to give her a first assignment.
In all fairness, Duncan didn’t really seem to know how to navigate the situation either. Being in charge of a single student? For one hour and a half? What should he have her do? He never had an assistant before. The idea of having one was nice, though.
“Feel free to put all that on the floor, if you like.” He says after noticing how compressed her knees were.
It was still early in the semester, which meant that there wasn’t much Riley would be able to help with. Duncan did, however, have a lot of boxes that he desperately needed to sort out but he doubted that qualified as “teacher’s aide” chores. So, most of Riley’s time would be spent helping doing things unrelated to him being a professor whatsoever.
Duncan leans back against his chair and takes a good look at her. Riley was in his psych 101 class and didn’t quite seem like a laid-back person. Then again, if she had agreed to this, the best option would be to be fully honest.
“Actually, there’s not much school related stuff to do just yet. You know, since the school year’s just begun.”
“That’s a given.” She nods, realising that she would be better off if she’d joined a club or something.
“But if I could ask you not to tell the dean and instead, help me with my research boxes over here, that would be really, really cool of you.”
To be honest, Riley couldn’t quite put her finger on Duncan. She couldn’t tell if he was going through a phase, if he was a misunderstood genius, or simply a total dick. But there were worst things than helping him sort out a few boxes and eventually grade a couple of homework. Besides, judging from the state of that clusterfuck of an office, he really needed a hand.
“Deal.” She smiles at him, stretching out her hand which Ian gladly shakes.
“Also, I didn’t give it that much thought when I told the dean I’d be needing an assistant, so we’ll have to find proper things for you to do in the future.”
“I’m not your assistant. I’m only here for an hour on Tuesdays and Thursdays.”
They spend the following hour going through the cardboard boxes and separating the files, documents and papers into different categories, in moderate silence. Who knew her internship, where she was in charge of alphabetization, would be helpful one day?
The following two weeks were anything but ordinary for Riley. Greendale had truly earned its reputation, but the weird thing was that hearing the words “Culture Club” didn’t shock Riley anymore. She even kept the flyer and looked at it with interest.
It was, yet again, Tuesday, which meant she had her first appointment of the week with Duncan. Last time they’d finally gotten through the last box which felt like something of a milestone to him, even if it was just an insignificant chore to Riley.
With a pack of Oreos in her hand, she pushes the door to Duncan’s office and is instantly met with him, trying his best to seem inconspicuous. Even though he had clearly just slammed his drawer shut. Okay. Maybe – just maybe – she should’ve knocked before entering.
“What are you doing?” She asks with genuine curiosity instead of judgement. By now, she’d understood that Duncan was… difficult. And that he was unpredictable and most likely going through some issues. He’d shown up visibly drunk and/or hungover to his classes a few times already. Obviously, Riley knew better than to crack jokes about her professor’s potential alcoholism.
He looks annoyed. And slightly pinker than usual. The room had a faint smell of cheap liquor.
“Nothing?” he fakes a relaxed tone but of course, it did very little to hide the fact that he had been caught in the act.
“Really? Because it looked like you were hiding your stash of lower-shelf booze.” Riley says, throwing her backpack on the floor next to the couch and quickly taking her usual seat.
Duncan sighs dramatically and places his feet on top of his desk before answering.
“It’s been a rough weekend.”
That was an understatement. There’s a distinguishable sadness in his voice, almost as if he was embarrassed to admit it. Riley’s face is still free of any judgement.
Over the last two weeks, she had gotten to know a lot more than she should’ve about Duncan. He was a real over-sharer and had a troubling liking to inappropriate jokes.
“You cand drink, you know?” Riley gives him an empathic smile and offers him the pack of cookies she had brought for them. “I’m not your nanny.”
Duncan seems to instantly relax at those words. He was weirdly genuinely touched by them.
“Are you going to snitch on me? Is this a trick?” He tries to sound a bit cheerier and takes a cookie before handing them back to Riley.
“If I snitched on you, how would I get my extra credit?”
“I dunno.” Duncan shrugs “Why do you need it? Your grades are excellent.”
“You’ve looked at all my grades?”
“You’re in my class. Of course I took a look at your file.”
He had a point. Even if she doubted Ian had gone to the same length with his other students. Riley moves closer to his desk.
“Creepy. And?” She asks, curious about what a professor might think about her academic accomplishments.
“Not to be a dick, but you could’ve picked any other extra-curricular.”
Again, he had a point. But Riley would never admit that she thought his class was the most difficult one in the curriculum and that she’d do almost anything not to fail.
“You’re right. Greendale does have an alarming number of dances and clubs. Did you know they have a thing called Club Club Club?”
Duncan hums un agreement. He’d stopped judging the clubs long ago; more specifically when he felt particularly inclined to join the Scrapbooking Club himself.
“Wow. Spending one-on-one time with your handsome psychology professor really caught your eye, then?”
“Grow up.” Riley retorts dryly.
He throws his hands in the air, faking surprise “It’s a genuine question! I think you’ve noticed but not a lot of students we relining up to be my assistant.”
“Aide.” Riley corrects “And it’s probably because of the way you behave in class, don’t you think?”
The reason behind her choice wasn’t all that deep. Riley was, and always had been, anxious about anything concerning her education. Meeting up with Duncan for extra credit was a precautionary measure.
“I’m a teacher’s pet, what can I say?” She admits, hoping to put an end to this conversation. The last thing she needed right now was to say something she shouldn’t and be analysed by Duncan.
“Kinky.” He winks at her which earns him a dramatic “Ew” from his student. “Well, I guess it’s up to me to make this easy. You don’t snitch, I continue to drink just enough o get me through the day and I promise to boost your credits every session.”
“You’re really going to say it like that? Also, that deal is totally unethical.”
“You should know, aren’t you a law graduate?”
Riley laughs heartily at that jab. For some reason, spending her afternoons with Duncan wasn't all that bad. Was he unprofessional? Absolutely. Was this new friendship building into something weird? Maybe. But neither of them seemed to mind it that much.