by Sam Crescent
****
It was Friday, and the bell had just rung for end of class. Already students were filing out, and Jack needed to head to the library to return some of the books he’d used for his class. Listening to poetry helped to soothe him, and today he wasn’t in any mood to be going out with most of the faculty. Beth certainly knew how to round people up, and there were a lot of people coming.
This is what you wanted.
He didn’t want to date or to have anything on a personal level with any of the teachers. This was the perfect solution, and yet now he wished he’d just declined the invitation. Packing up the papers, he gathered the books and precariously balancing them, he headed toward the library.
When he got there, he didn’t see anyone behind the desk, and figuring he knew where they were kept he made his way down toward the poetry section. As he rounded a bend, he didn’t notice Lucia crouched down, and he ended up toppling her over, dropping several of the books around her and on the floor.
“Ouch,” Lucia said, rubbing at her head.
“Shit, crap, sorry, bad language.”
She gave a little chuckle. “I know you’re a teacher, but I get that there’s curse words in the world, believe me.” She got up and rubbed at her head.
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t see you, and I hope I didn’t cut your head or anything.” He put his bag on the floor and moved close to her. The strawberry scent was strong once again as he neared.
“It’s fine, honestly.”
“Let me check, please. I don’t want to hurt you, and those books can hit pretty hard. I know.”
“You had books fall on your head?”
“Yep. Back at my home. I believed in the strength of one of my shelves, and I just kept adding book after book to this one precariously-built shelf on the wall. One day, I was reading one book while replacing another, and it was the final book, if you will. The shelf caved, dropped all the books on me and around me, and the pain was immense.”
“Now that sounds painful.”
“It was pretty painful. Not a lot to do about it though.”
“Did you rebuild the shelf?” she asked, bending down to grab his books.
“Yes. It’s now a floor-to-ceiling one. All perfectly protected and no risk of it falling down.”
She held the books and smiled. “And that’s exactly how books should be.”
“What are you doing here? Don’t you have any plans? It’s a Friday night, and I happen to know you’ve got one piece of homework to finish.”
“Yes, I do. I kind of signed up to help in the library every Friday after school. You know, putting the books away, cleaning up. It sounded kind of fun for a girl like me.”
He wondered what she meant, but then, recalling her quiet house, he kind of figured her home life was pretty lonely. He got that.
“Well, I better return these books.”
“There’s a lot there. Do you want a hand?” she asked.
“If you don’t mind.”
“Kind of my thing right now. Cleaning books, returning them.”
They walked toward the poetry section, and he watched her. She’d pulled her hair back into a ponytail, and he’d only ever seen it down.
“Here we go,” she said.
He watched and waited as she placed the books in the correct numerical order, and then got started on the ones he was holding.
“There’s quite a few here. You can just put them down on the floor, and I’ll finish them up.”
“It’s fine. I don’t mind. I’ve not got much of anything to do later anyway.”
“I heard Miss Bertram talking. You’ve got a hot date.” She smiled, and he noticed the two dimples in her cheeks.
“Erm, it’s more like a faculty thing.”
“I don’t know. I’ve heard a couple of girls talking, and they’ve been all over the whole Parker and Bertram thing.” She closed her eyes and shook her head. “Ignore me. You speak so normally and without judgment I forget you’re a teacher.”
“It’s fine, Lucia, and I do appreciate it. Honestly, I do.”
She finished putting the books back on the shelves and sighed. “There, all done.” She tilted her head to the side and turned to him. “Any exciting books to look forward to?”
“Still not a lover of poetry?”
“It has only been a week of school, sir. I can’t exactly fall in love with something that fast.”
“I don’t know. You’ve got to learn to open your mind up to new things. They could surprise you.”
She shrugged. “We’ll see. Have a good weekend.” She stepped away, and he didn’t like the fact she was here late.
“How are you getting home?” he asked.
“What?”
“Home. You don’t own a car.” He recalled her telling him that.
She patted her thighs. “These trusty things are taking me home. Thank you, Mr. Parker.”
He didn’t like that.
“How long will you be?”
“Another hour, maybe, why?”
“I’ll drive you home.”
“You really don’t need to do that.”
“I don’t like the thought of you walking alone. I saw those streets, and they’re pretty scary, especially for a teenage girl.”
“I’m very grown-up for my age.”
“Where’s your car?” he asked. She should have a car. If she did, he’d leave it alone. After years of growing up in the city, it was something he couldn’t shake. Bad shit happened to women and girls walking alone.
“I don’t have one. I’ll be fine.”
“That’s what they all say. I’ll stay and wait.”
He moved toward one of the tables, sat down, and began marking some work. The librarian came over to him, and they talked about the night ahead. It didn’t take Lucia long to finish her work, and when she was done, she pushed the empty stand toward the front of the desk. She smiled with the librarian, and he packed up, saying his goodbyes as well.
Leaving the library together, he noticed Lucia kept glancing toward him.
“You know this isn’t supposed to happen,” she said. “I don’t want you to get a bad reputation or anything.”
“I’m doing the gentlemanly thing right now. If you like, we could go and see the principal and I can tell him how your parents are leaving you alone to walk in the dark where it’s dangerous.”
“Not a lot of people really see it as a gentlemanly thing though.” She paused near his car. “I don’t want you to get in trouble.”
“Taking you home will not get me in trouble. Nothing is happening here, Lucia. If I ever had a daughter and I couldn’t be there for whatever reason, I like to think that a teacher would do the considerate thing, regardless. People need to stop seeing the negative sh-stuff in everything other people do.”
“I know that.” Her cheeks heated, and she looked a little upset.
Climbing into the car, he caught the scent of strawberries again, and he didn’t ask.
Unlike the first car journey where they talked the whole way, they didn’t even speak during this one. He parked up outside her house, waited for her to go inside before pulling away.
This time he didn’t go home and instead headed straight toward the bar that Beth had told him to be at.
When he arrived, he saw several cars were already parked outside the bar. Climbing out, he made his way toward the doors. He’d already loosened his tie and removed his jacket. It was still warm as he made his way in. He spotted the table full of teachers but went to the bar to order himself a beer.
Making his way to the table, he listened as all of the teachers made the introductions. From the look of Beth, she was already two beers over her limit.
“I’m Derick Coleman,” a large, muscular man said.
“Jack Parker. I teach English literature.”
“I’m physical education and also sex ed now as well.”
“Great.”
“Yeah, ever since we had two seniors the pr
evious year leave pregnant, Principal Dowed petitioned the parents, and it became part of the curriculum. Seeing as I’m the physical guy and sex is all about bumping and grinding, I got the job.”
“I’m sure they’re delighted by that.” He hoped his sarcasm wasn’t detected. He really didn’t want to be here right now, and Derick seemed to want to sit with him.
“It’s a pretty good job. You know. Getting kids to roll condoms on bananas and seeing them struggle. It is pretty funny. The punk-ass kids think they know so much. I had that Connor kid, can’t remember his last name. He shouted out that a bitch wouldn’t get pregnant if you did it standing up.”
Again, Jack had no idea what to say to that. “Wow,” he said.
“Yeah. Then of course he turned on Lucia and said she’d never have any problems getting knocked up unless she wore a bag over her head as no man would want to fuck her. Tried not to laugh but we all know the kid is right.”
“You told him to shut his filthy mouth, didn’t you?” Jack asked. He felt anger, rage, and something twisted in his gut that he didn’t get right now.
“What? Of course. I told him to be more respectful in my classroom.”
He remembered Lucia’s complete lack of trust when he spoke to her after Connor said the shit that he said.
“You know what, I need some air.”
Grabbing his beer, he left the heat of the bar and quickly breathed in the fresh air.
“What the fuck are you doing?” He closed his eyes and tried to cool down his raging temper. “No wonder she looks sad half the time.” Especially if no teacher was taking the time to understand what was wrong with her. He was fucking pissed off and angry.
“Hey, handsome thing,” Beth said. “You didn’t have to leave so fast.”
“It’s fine.”
“I heard what Derick said. I like Lucia. She always does her homework on time. She’s a good kid.”
He didn’t say anything, as right now, he didn’t trust himself.
“Her parents though, they really don’t give a shit about her. They’ve forgotten parent-teacher night and they’d even booked every single teacher. Lucia sat there and finally after two hours of waiting for them, she just asked to put everything on a report card so she could take it home.” Beth stood close to him, and her perfume seemed to be on thicker than normal. He felt like he was choking on the fumes. “I even heard a couple of kids say that the only reason she doesn’t have a car is because she’s too fat and her parents make her walk everywhere. I’ve seen her ride in with Marie.”
This wasn’t helping.
He’d seen Lucia around school plenty of times. This was the first year that he’d gotten the opportunity to teach her, but right now, he didn’t trust himself to speak or to say anything.
Beth hiccupped and leaned in close. “I’m not wearing any panties, Jack. I’m a monster in bed. A man-eating monster. I could do things to your dick that you’ve only ever dreamed of. Ask Derick, I’ve taken him for a spin a time or two. I don’t have a problem fucking, and you seem to need help lightening up.” She ran her hand down his front, and he caught her wrist, holding her in place as she finally threw up the contents of her stomach.
It had missed his shoes, but the stench was awful.
“You bring your car?” he asked.
“Nope.”
Picking her up, he carried her toward his car, opening up the backseat. The scent of strawberry was still heavy in the air, and he ignored it. He ignored everything. Putting her in the back, he headed inside and told them that Beth had thrown up, which just made everyone erupt in a fit of laughter about how Beth couldn’t handle her beer.
Once he dropped her off at her house and avoided any more feeling up, he got back in his car and drove home.
Resting his head on the steering wheel, he took several calming breaths. His car stank, and not of the strawberry smell that he particularly liked.
One, never ever fuck a student. Two, never ever fall for a student. Three, don’t ever break any of the first two rules.
“Get a grip, Parker. Get a fucking grip.”
Chapter Three
“You’re blowing me off to run?” Marie asked.
“I’m not blowing you off, okay? I’m just spending an hour to see how well I do. This is not blowing you off. Not at all. I’m going to be there, complete with all the bad food I can eat to help me feel better about myself.”
“We’re still doing a Brad Pitt marathon. I don’t care what you say.”
“Yes to Brad Pitt. Yes to a movie marathon and minimal homework.” She’d done all of hers anyway and didn’t need to even think about homework all weekend. Her parents had gone, leaving her a hundred dollars in case of emergencies. The fridge was full to bursting with all that good stuff. Fresh fruit, more tofu, and her mother had even purchased her a vegan cookbook, yay.
She tried to be thrilled, but the only thing good about this weekend was Marie, her best friend.
Getting to the park, Lucia felt nervous. It was already hot even though it was eight in the morning. She knew the park was mostly filled with runners, but she’d also gotten the park’s satellite view from the internet last night, and she’d found herself a path that should have minimal chance of anyone seeing her run. She didn’t want to be laughed at, and she was in running shorts that hey, still fit. That got a little victory from her this morning, and she wore a large shirt to cover everything. Her hair was pulled back, and she was ready. Running was supposed to be a good choice of fitness activity. She didn’t know how true that was, but she was willing to give anything a try right now.
“I can do this.”
She’d seen several ways of warming up, and she gave them a try, also recalling what Mr. Coleman told them to do when they were forced to run track. After more time avoiding what she was going to attempt, she finally decided to just go for it.
Starting at a steady pace, she began to jog.
One foot in front of the other, and when she was happy, she gave a little sprint, and after about ten minutes, maybe not even that, she stopped.
Her fitness was really, really bad. Deciding to go at a steady jog, she kept on going, feeling the perspiration run down her back. She wiped her forehead, only to see her arm covered in more sweat.
This was why she avoided all things fitness. It was gross, and it didn’t make her feel so good.
She was also panting.
Not attractive pants either.
These were fake, and as she rounded a corner, she hit smack dab in the middle of a very hard chest. She didn’t go far, other than flat on her back, and she looked up only to find her English lit teacher staring down at her.
He wore running gear and had one of those timer things on his arms.
“Lucia,” he said, pulling his earbuds out.
She was gawking up at him. This was the first time she’d seen him without a suit on.
“Mr. Parker,” she said. “Funny seeing you here.”
“Yes, it is funny, isn’t it?” he asked. He held his hand up, and she hesitated a second to take it, but seeing no other reason not to, she held his hand as he helped her up.
She wondered if she felt heavy to him.
Biting her lip, she looked up at him. He was taller than she was by several inches, so that wasn’t hard to do.
“How are you?” she asked.
“I’m doing great. You’re running now?”
She looked down at her body and then at his, and it was kind of pitiful.
“I’m … attempting to.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to knock you over.”
“It’s fine. Perfectly fine.” She waved her hand in the air and realized that they were actually alone. The large bushes and trees that surrounded the park stood in front of them. The area was a little secluded as well, and that was one of the reasons she’d opted for this path to run.
How … odd that Mr. Parker was there.
“Did you have a good time last night?” She just kept
blurting these words out, and he was her teacher. “I’m so sorry, Mr. Parker. I didn’t—”
“Jack.”
“What?”
“I’m not in school, and ‘Mr. Parker’ sounds like my dad. So, outside of school grounds, I’m Jack.”
“Jack.” She tested his name and kind of liked the sound of it coming from her lips, which was so strange. “I’m sorry for interrupting your run.”
“I’m the one who’s apologizing. I shouldn’t have bumped into you.”
“It’s fine. I’m perfectly fine. I have a pretty good landing pad.” She rubbed her rear and winced. “I’m going to go now.”
She nodded her head and moved past him. Widening her eyes, she mouthed the words, completely in shock about the way she’d acted.
“Get a grip, Lucia.” Again, she still mouthed the words so he didn’t hear.
“Music helps,” Jack said.
She turned toward him. “Pardon?”
“When you’re running on your own. Music helps, and it makes it seem less of a chore.”
“Thank you. I’ll remember that.”
“You’re going to be running often?” he asked.
“I’m thinking about it. Maybe, I don’t know. It depends how close to death I am after this one.”
He chuckled. “I’ll see you around, Lucia.”
She watched him go. Her heart raced a little, her cheeks heated, and it was just totally ridiculous what had just happened. Picking up her pace, she finished her first initial jog of the route in the park and made it home in time to see Marie waiting on the front step for her.
“You look totally gross right now.”
“I’ll put more clothes on.”
“Not that, stupid. I mean you’re all sweaty, and it’s gross.” Marie put her finger over her nose and pinched. “You’re taking a shower, pronto, while I get everything set up.”
She didn’t argue, leaving Marie alone as she went to her room.
Removing her clothes, she climbed into the shower and quickly rubbed some soap across her body. Grabbing the tube of shampoo, she washed her hair, conditioned it, and was done within minutes.
Wrapping her hair up, she quickly pulled on a dress, deciding that she wore jeans throughout the week, and today with her best friend, she’d allow herself the luxury.