Mat scaring Larry on the ‘Yonderland’ set 😭💖

her: you got any special talents ;) ?

me: glad you asked

me: *cracks knuckles*

me: *deep inhale*

me: WILLIAM WILLIAM HENRY STEPHEN HENRY RICHARD JOHN OI-

Forbidden Love ~ Chapter Two: Embarrassment | Mathew Baynton FanFic

The six cast members took their seats on stools that had been provided by the theatre. Each of the six was holding a microphone ready to talk to the students (and staff) sat in the auditorium. It was weird seeing the 'six idiots' as they were known in their casual clothes. I was so used to seeing them in their extravagant and often wacky costumes from the TV show.

'Hello everyone!' Jim took the lead of the Q&A session. 'We're very excited to be able to work with you today! We're going to kick-start the day with a Q&A and then later you will be doing a workshop with myself, Larry and Mat.' Out of the corner of my eye, I could see some of the students, especially the girls, looking at one another and whispering 'yes' and 'get in!' To be fair, I'd be lying if I wasn't thinking the same. It's not every day you get to meet people from TV as part of your teaching career.

The Q&A started. The students eagerly put their hands up waiting for their questions to be asked. It was going pretty well until I noticed a certain student who was bouncing in their seat with their hand raised. I saw Aggie go over to Harry and whisper something to him. In my head, I knew exactly what she was saying. 'Harry, please sit properly in your seat and wait patiently to be picked to ask a question.' I saw him roll his eyes and slump into his seat but his hand was still raised and flapping trying to get the attention of those on stage.

Larry pointed in the direction of Harry and his friends and said 'the young man in the second row.' Harry jumped back up, eager and bellowed his question. 'If you could only pick one song to sing from the show for the rest of your life what would it be?' The cast looked at one another and smiled. Larry responded with 'that's such a great question. I'm going to hand this one over to Mat first I think.'

Mathew Baynton. Ah, what a man. The students didn't know this but on the inside I was fan-girling myself. It was an added bonus that I got to see his face every day at work even if it was only on a whiteboard for a few minutes. I guess in my head he was everything I believed a perfect man would be like but then again, I had Eric so... Anyway. He looked like he was pondering his answer to the question. I knew instantly what my favourite song was from the show and it was one of his solos. 'You know, I think I might have to go for Charles II: King of Bling. It was really fun to film and I know the majority of people adore the character.' Out of nowhere, there was an outburst from Harry. 'Oh my god! That's so cool! You know our teacher Miss Thorne plays that all the time! Like every single day! Miss, that's your favourite song isn't it!?' I could feel myself turning red. The blazing heat taking over my cheeks. Not only were all the students looking my way but I knew that the six grown adults on stage where also looking directly at me too. I wanted the ground to swallow me whole. Thanks Harry!

Aggie rushed straight back over to Harry and I knew she was scolding him for jumping back into the conversation. I didn't know what to say or do. Was I embarrassed because one of my students had acted up? Was I embarrassed that my colleague now knew that I played the song pretty much every day? Or was I embarrassed because one of my students had unknowingly outed me for having a huge crush on Mathew Baynton who was literally a couple of metres away? I looked sheepishly back at the stage and let out a small smile. 'Tell you what, shall we have a sing-a-long?' Jim chimed in. I could feel myself looking around at the students. Some of them responded with a loud 'yeah!' 'Okay then! Let's do it! Shall we start with the Monarch song!? Who knows that?' A sea of hands rose into the air. Lots of excited students ready to have an impromptu sing-a-long of their favourite songs from the show. I felt someone behind me before they started whispering in my ear. 'Why don't you go call Sue and let her know how the trip is going? It will give you a couple of minutes to have a breather too. You're looking a little flustered.' I looked behind me and saw Aggie there. 'But...' She put her hand up to stop me. 'I'll be fine looking after this lot. Go ring Sue and let her know how it's going. Off you pop!'

I walked out of the auditorium through a side door and ended up in corridor that was quite narrow. Where did Helen say the toilets where again? I wandered down the corridor and eventually found the ladies toilets. Was I even meant to be down this corridor? I got in and saw my reflection in the mirror. Yup, those rosy cheeks didn't give anything anyway did they? I had to stop myself from going up to the wall and bashing my head against it. After I composed myself, I scrambled in my pockets to find my phone. I dialled the school number and waited for Sue's voice on the other end. No answer. Great.

'Hello, you have reached the reception for Humphrey High School. Unfortunately, the school receptionist cannot take your call right now but if you leave a message, we will return your call as soon as possible.' I checked my watch. It felt like I had been in the bathroom for ages even though it had only been at least five minutes. The phone beeped. 'Hi Sue, it's just Lottie. Aggie asked me to give the school a ring to let you know that we have arrived at the theatre safe and sound and the children are enjoying the workshop so far. If we have any issues, I'm sure I'll ring you back. See you when we return to school. Thanks now!' I hung up my phone and sighed. Right time to get back to the auditorium and make sure that Aggie wasn't left alone for much longer.

I looked in the mirror, took a quick glance at myself and straightened up my glasses. I made my way out of the toilets and back onto the long corridor. The hallway was long. The carpet the same rouge colour that matched the seats in the auditorium. Obviously that was the colour scheme of the theatre. The corridor was filled with posters from previous productions that had performed at the theatre. Some of the faces I recognised, various celebrities from TV and films. I was lost in my own little world until I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket.

YOU HAVE ONE NEW MESSAGE.

I looked to see Eric's name with the message 'Another night eating tea alone. Guess you can just make up for it at the weekend. That's if you are not too busy? See you tonight.' I rolled my eyes. I hated his mini guilt trips. You'd think he was 15 never mind 35. I wish he would understand that my profession sometimes meant putting others before myself and this was a fantastic opportunity for the students.

I started heading towards the auditorium, phone still in hand. I had no clue what to reply. Could I be bothered arguing back? Was it worth it? As I started typing, I felt myself bump into something... Or someone...

'Oh my god, I am so sorry! I should have been looking...' I looked up and there he was. He had grabbed hold off my arm as we collided. Possibly in the hope of catching me before I hit the deck. I could feel myself getting lost in his dark brown eyes. 'I, urm, I....' I was lost for words. That was the second time I'd managed to embarrass myself today.

Forbidden Love ~ Chapter One: The 'Horrible' School Trip | Mathew Baynton FanFic

*Beep beep!* *Beep beep!*

5am. Time to get up. Today was going to be a long day. A longer day than usual. But today was THE day. I honestly think I was more excited than the kids.

I turned over, snoozed the alarm on my phone and pushed myself out of bed. As I looked back, I could see that Eric was readjusting. I didn't know if he was actually awake or not. Quite frankly I didn't want to poke the bear especially at this time of morning. I got up and started to scramble for my work clothes. I needed to make sure that I looked at least half decent today. I was going to make sure of that!

'Why are you getting up earlier than usual? It's only a silly school trip. Come back to bed for half an hour.' Eric mumbled as I tried to escape the bedroom with the items of clothing that I needed to spruce myself up in my hands. 'I can't. You know how important today is. I need to make sure I'm prepared for a very long day.' I heard him groan. He had never been a fan of me taking on extra commitments at work. 'Like I said, it's a silly school trip. It's not really that important Lottie. I hate how you always end up working long hours. I thought teaching was meant to be a 9 to 5 job.' I rolled my eyes, ignored his comment and headed to the bathroom to get ready.

No one, not even Eric, was going to rain on my parade today.

__________________________________________________

As the coach pulled up outside the venue, the bus started to buzz with excitement. 'Right Y9, you need to listen very carefully to the following instructions...' Aggie or Mrs Carter as she was formally known by the students was the head of the History department. She was a lovely woman but she was regimented in her ways. Everything needed to be done a certain way and everything had to be done correctly otherwise she would turn into the teacher from hell. Or it seemed that way anyway!

I waited for the cohort of students to leave the bus before I did a quick sweep of the seats to ensure that nothing had been left behind before joining them outside the theatre. 'Miss Thorne, what are we actually going to be doing today?' One of the girls near me asked. The agenda for the day was to meet with the Horrible Histories cast and have a Q&A session before the students participated in a workshop with some of the cast. It had been a long time since the troupe had done anything related to Horrible Histories so it was a special one off occasion. The cast had taken time out of their busy schedules filming their new series 'Ghosts' for the BBC to come and work with the students from Humphrey High School. I didn't know exactly who was going to be conducting the workshop or what to even expect from it, but I was hoping that I'd get to meet him at least. Either way, it seemed like it was going to be a fun filled day.

Before I knew it, I could hear Aggie bellowing over the students. 'Please keep to the left! Come on Y9, you need to make sure you are on the left so you are out of the way. Harry! Are you listening to my instructions!? Move to the side!' Well, it might be a fun filled day if everyone managed to behave.

Whilst the students were lining up, a lady appeared at the door. Her name tag said 'Helen.' She was going to be our 'guide' for the day as the theatre wasn't prepared to let us run riot. I couldn't blame them. Just from the outside you could see how glorious and glamorous the building was. 'Morning everyone! My name is Helen and I'm going to be looking after you all today. If you could follow me inside please, that would be lovely.' She smiled before opening the door and gesturing for the students to start following her inside. Aggie followed the first lot of students. I stayed behind so I could keep an eye on the students at the back, Harry being one of them.

As we walked into the theatre, some of the students looked around with awe on their faces. 'Wow! Miss, I've never actually been to a theatre before. It looks well old in 'ere.' I chuckled. Although we lived near London, it never ceased to amaze me how many of our students had never explored the sights and sounds of the city. Helen guided the students into the auditorium where the students were going to meet and greet the cast of Horrible Histories and participate in a Q&A.

As the last of the students filed in, Aggie came over and said 'they seem settled enough. Let's just keep an eye on the usual suspects.' I nodded and smiled before taking a seat on the end of one of the rows. The seats were a little bit stiff but the fabric was so soft to touch. The regal red of the fabric really matched the décor in the auditorium too. Helen took herself up on the stage so that she could greet the students and staff properly.

'Right, good morning everyone! It's lovely to have you here with us today. Are we all excited for the day ahead?' The students gave an unenthusiastic 'yeah' in response. I chuckled as secretly I knew they were all excited but they never truly wanted to show off their emotions in case it came across as 'uncool.' Typical teenagers. Plus, I think Helen's energetic and enthusiasm was far too much for them to take on board. 'Oh I think we can do better than that. As you know, the cast of Horrible Histories is here! Very exciting!' There was no response to this. I felt sorry for the woman as she tried to hype up the tired teens. 'Yes, exciting indeed. We will get started in approximately five minutes. Whilst we wait, I just want to go over a few 'house' rules that we have here at the theatre...' Poor woman. She wasn't helping herself. Students rolling their eyes, muttering under their breath. Typical teenagers!

After what seemed like an eternity, some movement in the wings caught my eye. I couldn't see who it was but I'm sure it meant that Helen's speech on the dos and don'ts of the theatre was coming to an end. 'So please remember, no mess is to be left in the auditorium. We want to make sure we keep our theatre nice and clean.' Helen looked both ways into the wings. It appeared that something, or someone had caught her eye too. 'Right, so without further ado. May I present to you the cast of Horrible Histories!' Onto the stage walked the six familiar faces that graced my classroom's interactive whiteboard every week. I could see the students' faces light up. Harry was sat bouncing in his chair with excitement. Here we go...