A Licentious Affair

Turning his angry gaze at his girlfriend, Greg had seemingly reached his own end of the rope. "You want me to thank you for bringing me to the fucking hospital when it was your own FUCKING FAULT that I got in this freaking situation as it is?!" He turned his body in the seat to face the blonde teacher.

Sara's blue eyes burned as they turned away from the road and focused instead on Greg, "I am the one who caused this?! How dare you?! You ungrateful ass! You lie on my couch, in my house, eat my food and drink beer you bought with MY money and then when I refuse your drunken fumblings, it is MY fault you make a complete fool of yourself by falling and banging your empty head against the sink?!" All through her tirade she didn't look once at the road, cars whizzing by on the opposite lane. Greg was starting to get worried and the headache he already had intensified.

"Sara, look at the road..." he warned worriedly.

"It's fine! But don't think I'll forget all this. Some things have to change." And with that final note, she returned her gaze to the street.

When they got home, Sara parked the car, turned off the ignition and slammed the door shut as she got out. The front door followed by her bedroom door was soon slammed shut as well. 'And to think I had taken the day off to pick his sorry behind up,' she thought bitterly.

The following day she left the house early, leaving a snoring Greg on the couch, where he'd taken to sleeping. She was glad to be back at school. Her house no longer felt like a home for her. It simply felt confining. Her conscious mind almost forgot all about Jake and the great help she offered a couple of days before. When her eyes caught the steely gaze of the student, it all came rushing back. She had no idea how she would face the girl. For some reason, she was somewhat embarrassed. She wasn't sure if the student had told anyone of what had happened, sure that if she had, the entire school would be ogling her, judging her. But everyone looked the same and acted the same. The teachers' lounge bustled with the same inactivity that always defined it. And her classes had gone over smoothly.

It was last period and the seniors' class. She squared her shoulders, raised her chin in determination and walked into the classroom. Jake, much like the first day of school, was propped against her desk. Clearing her throat loud enough to be heard over the din, she walked towards the middle of the class, awaiting Jake's reaction and hoping it would pass without incident. Jake turned around, sensing her teacher's stare. "Ms. Johnson," she said in greeting as she moved away from her desk, bowing in exaggeration to let her through. With a small smirk and a twinkle in her eye, she winked at Sara and went to take her seat. Sara, for some unknown reason, felt her cheeks burn with an embarrassing blush. Hoping the children wouldn't notice her strange behavior, she placed her things on the desk and got right to teaching.

That was the only awkward encounter she had with Jake ever since the incident with her boyfriend. Jake still persisted in her arrogant, bordering on obnoxious behavior, especially when it came to the little blonde, but overall, life was okay for Sara. She had no idea why she was the target of the girl's attitude, especially when she had helped her so on that crucial day, but she attributed it to her private life and left it be. She and Greg had spoken, laying things out in the open, eventually leading to some kind of agreement. They agreed neither wished to separate, but he would have to look for a job and start sharing their obligations and responsibilities as a couple. A month later, Greg got a job at another nearby school and things seemed to finally settle into a calm routine.

About halfway through the semester, trouble started brewing again. The calm routine of before that was longed for by both Sara and Greg slowly metamorphosed into a dull, pathetic excuse for a living. Sara once again felt suffocated and could see no retreat. Her days at school weren't any better since Jake seemed to make it her purpose to cause trouble in the already troubled life of the young blonde.

"Last class I asked you to analyze the symbol of the green light in Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. Who would like to read what they wrote?"

No one raised their hand, and suddenly there was complete silence. "Not everyone at once..." Sara joked. "Anyone willing to give it a try? I won't bite, promise."

"Well, I might answer if you do promise to bite," said a cocky Jake, her head held low, her eyes looking up through her dark bangs. She smirked when she saw the red coloring her beautiful teacher's cheeks.

Sara wasn't sure what to do with such a comment, but they were starting to come more frequently from her rather unnerving student. She swallowed and looked around, trying her best to ignore it altogether. "Anyone? The green light, what does it remind you of? What does the color green remind you of?"

Jake hated being ignored, so she persisted, "So is that a no?"

The entire class kept silent as the air grew tenser. They looked from Jake to their teacher and back, their eyes and head bobbing from one side to the other.

Knowing she couldn't possibly continue to ignore her student's crass comments and behavior, she looked directly at Jake and said with a confidence she didn't really feel at the moment, "if you are unwilling to partake in the class discussion, I ask you to leave my class. If you speak to me in this manner again, I will make sure you never enter my class again. Is that clear, Jake?"

Jake snarled, "What kind of manner is that, Ms. Johnson?"

Clenching her teeth, Sara responded, "This discussion is over. Have you done your homework for today?"

Jake shrugged.

"Alright then, please leave my class and go to the principal's office, and wait for me there." Slowly closing the book she had in her hands, Sara crossed her arms over her chest and waited. She wasn't sure what she would do if Jake refused to follow her order.

Silently, Jake straightened her back, got up from her chair and started moving towards the door. On her way out, she briefly stopped in front of Sara and whispered, "this ain't over." When she was about to open the door and leave, she turned halfway around and said, "Oh and by the way, I read The Great Gatsby when I was ten and the green light is a symbol of many things, like money, growth, fertility, a new beginning, but mostly for Gatsby, it represents Daisy and the American dream that he can never achieve," and with that she left.

Sara was shocked mute, as was the rest of the class. That girl made her blood boil and run cold all at the same time. She was obviously intelligent and capable but for some reason refused to even try. Her complexity and wild nature drew Sara like a moth to a burning flame. Class soon came to an end and Sara rushed to the principal's office to try and figure out the complex problem that was Jake O'Neal. Surprised on some level to actually find her there, waiting for her, she approached the principal's secretary and asked to speak with the principal. In all the time since she had started teaching at Lincoln High, she never once sent anyone to the principal's office. She wanted to believe she was a different kind of teacher, but apparently some students didn't know any other way.

The principal immediately ushered them into his office and took his seat. "What seems to be the problem, Ms. Johnson?" The gentle smile on his face indicated an amount of fondness he felt for the young teacher. She had graduated at the top of her class, was motivated, hard working and ambitious, everything the school needed and required of its teachers.

"Well, Ms. O'Neal has been making my classes somewhat more difficult by offering inappropriate commentary, often directed at myself." Sara tried to choose her words carefully. She wasn't exactly sure why she was doing so, as though unconsciously protecting the delinquent, but it simply felt right.

"What kind of comments, Ms. Johnson?" The principal sent a harsh look in the direction of the student, to be completely ignored by the nonchalant, coolly reclining girl.

Sara found it hard to put it into words since she was embarrassed at having allowed this to continue and at the same time, now that she thought about it, none of her comments were extremely overt. "Subtle comments laced with all kinds of innuendos. And on top of that, she comes to class with no homework, no books, notebooks, and so on. And I really don't understand why since she is such an intelligent girl." Unnoticed by either Sara or the principal, Jake's eyes flashed in anger at hearing the word 'girl.' She was a person, a grown woman, and absolutely hated being referred to as a 'girl.' Her step father used to call her that too. Until she stopped him. Altogether. Now he was spending his elder years rotting in jail.

"I'm such an intelligent girl, am I?" She suddenly spat from her seat, no longer reclining in boredom.

Sara was shocked at the vehemence coming off the student. "Well then, why don't you take your English classes and shove 'em? Remember what you promised in class; if I ever speak to you in this manner again, I won't be welcome in your class. Well, I don't even want to be in them anyhow." Without waiting for an answer, she got out of the chair and headed for the door. The principal had gotten so red, it was actually funny. Jake resisted bursting into laughter. "Oh and next time you need help, look for someone else." When Jake opened the door, the principal suddenly found his voice, "As of right now you are expelled from this school, Ms. O'Neal. Don't dare step back in here unless you wish to be taken away by the police, you hear me?!"

"Yeah, yeah..." answered Jake, already making her way out of the office.

"I'm sorry you had to endure that, Ms. Johnson. This has never happened before. I mean, Jake is known as quite the trouble maker but she never spoke in that way to any of her teachers. I don't know what has gotten into her."

"Sir, may I say something?"

"Yes, of course, please."

"I don't think expelling her is a good idea in her case. I think that is exactly what she wanted. Somehow, I think she was offended by what I said. I think she actually cares about my class and about school, somewhere deep, deep down inside, but is just afraid of showing it. Please don't expel her on my account. I couldn't possibly live with myself. She's not a bad student. She's filled with potential but lacks in will. Allow her to come back and I'll have a chat with her. I'm sure we could work something out."

The principal listened carefully, thinking he may had been too harsh and rash in expelling the student so quickly, but his blood continued to boil in anger at the girl's furious comments. "Alright, I'll allow her to come back, putting her on probation. If she acts up again, she's out. I'll call her home and leave the message that I expect her back here in three days. Give her some time to cool off and set her priorities straight, if she has any."

Sara thanked her boss and left the office. A new mission igniting a fire inside her that had long been dormant. She would make Jake come around, and would take her as a protégé. She would transform this kid's life around.

The next few days passed rapidly by. Greg didn't know what happened to his now usually sullen girlfriend. She was suddenly radiant and looking happy. Confronting her on the subject one night, she brushed him off and kept at her work. Suspicions rising, he pulled Sara out of the chair she was sitting on, grading papers, and asked harshly, "What's with you?"

He knew his reasoning was ridiculous but felt he had the right to know if something was going on in his girlfriend's life that made her happy.

"What do you mean? Let me go, I have papers to grade." She tried pulling away, but he held fast.

"Are you cheating on me?"

Sara's eyes grew to the size of saucers, "What?! What are you talking about?"

"I see how you've been this past week, all smiley and happy, humming while working. If you're not cheating on me, I want to know what happened."

Narrowing her eyes to an almost invisible slit, she ground through her clenched teeth, "What in the hell is wrong with you? If I'm happy the first thing you wonder is whether I'm having an affair? Well that should tell you something about our relationship, now shouldn't it?! Now unless you have something NORMAL and mature to talk to me about, I suggest you go back to whatever you were doing and let me get back to my work." Thinking the discussion was over, she was surprised by the strengthening hold on her arm.

"Who the fuck do you think you're talking to, huh? You think I'm one of your stupid little students that you can boss and order around? You freaking slut, I'm sure you're boinking one of those ugly ass teachers from your school, aren't you?! Well fuck you! It doesn't matter anyhow. I've had enough of you." He pushed Sara away, sending her crashing against the kitchen chair she had been occupying. She stumbled and fell on her side, hitting the floor hard, crying out softly.

Helplessly, she watched as her longtime boyfriend made up a bag and stormed out of the house they had shared for the past six months. After he slammed the door shut, not even bothering to glance back at her once, she pulled herself off the ground, clutching her wrist. It was throbbing dully and she hoped she hadn't fractured anything. Trying to rotate it slowly, she was happy it worked with only mild pain. She knew all of her left side would be sporting black and blue bruises for a while to come. Taking a bag of frozen pees out of the freezer, she placed it on her wrist, which was slightly swollen. Looking at her students' papers, she decided against continuing her work and opted to go to bed early, eventually crying herself to sleep. She knew she wasn't sad over the break-up but rather having her emotions on overload for the past few months had finally gotten to her.

The following morning, as predicted, her body hurt as though she had been run over by a truck, which then decided to make a u-turn and drive over her a second time. Slowly getting out of bed, she took a quick, painful shower, dressed and left for school. She knew she would be walking funny, but preferred to hold onto her sick days for when she was actually sick and immobile. Also, working would keep her mind off of her personal life, or so she willed herself to believe. At school, her hunched form and awkward walk garnered some strange looks, but no one asked. She didn't know if she should be thankful or upset by her co-workers' lack of interest. As always, she simply attributed it to their reluctance to butt in.

Last period finally rolled around and she was both saddened and angry at seeing that her new protégée decided to skip class. Waiting for the bell to ring, she tucked The Great Gatsby into her bag, which they were finally done discussing, and left the building. Standing in the parking lot, she realized she had no desire to go home. Her home was empty and her loneliness would consume her, she was sure. It wasn't that she missed Greg because she didn't, but his presence, any presence, still meant she would not be completely alone. On the other side of the parking lot stood the school's football field where it appeared the school's team was in the midst of practice. Deciding to watch the impromptu game they were putting on, she walked up the hill and settled down on the grass, facing the field. The air was cool and the sky bright blue and it gave her a sense of tranquility. She turned her face to the sky, eyes closed, letting the mild breeze caress her features. Her blonde hair billowed in the wind, playfully un-tucking soft tendrils from her ponytail. She didn't hear the footsteps approaching since she was too caught up in the moment.

"How was class today?"

Sara quickly opened her eyes and turned her gaze to look at the "intruder." Tranquility rapidly morphed into anger at the sight of Jake, casually leaning against a light pole, smirking at her.

"Where were you?"

"Aww, you missed me..." said Jake sarcastically. And then she noticed the crestfallen look on Sara's face. Suddenly, she no longer felt cocky, nor did she wish to give the blonde a hard time. She approached her silently, as Sara had already turned her back to her, seemingly intent on the game.

Chewing on her bottom lip thoughtfully, she plopped down next to Sara. "Look, I'm sorry I didn't come to class. Something happened at home and I couldn't leave." After a brief pause, in which no response came for the blonde, Jake continued, "You don't have to take school matters so seriously, you know. It's just school, just a job."

Sara then turned watery eyes towards the brunette, who was reclining back on her hands, legs slightly spread and stretched out in front of her. "You think this is because of class, or because you didn't come to it? Someone's mighty full of themselves..." She knew she shouldn't have said those things out loud, but couldn't help shatter the confident young woman's sense of bravado and over inflated self worth.

Jake swallowed, seeing that this was something else, not to do with her or with school. Tucking her legs under her, Indian style, she scooted closer, for the first time noticing the bruising on the blonde's arm and hand. "What happened to you?" She asked, concern lacing her tone.

Sara glanced at her arm and shrugged, "Nothing that should concern you."

Jake was suddenly angry, "But what if it does?"

Sara looked at her quizzically, "What do you mean?"

"What if it does concern me?" She was met by silence.

"What happened? Who did this to you? Greg?" She could feel her anger begin to rise.

Sara closed her eyes, shaking her head. "This is not an appropriate conversation. You're my student, I'm your teacher and that is all. What concerns my private life is just that, private, and I would like to keep it that way."

"Bullshit! Fuck appropriate. Is it bad if I care about you and want to know what happened? You told me you wanted to take me under your wing, make me your little protégée. Doesn't that include a glimpse into your own life, or is that only one sided? Am I the only one supposed to bare my soul to you?" Jake got to her feet and started pacing. She had said more than she had intended to and was starting to regret opening her mouth in the first place. She had to admit that Sara was nice, and if she looked deep down inside she knew the real reason behind her seeming animosity towards the young teacher was that she liked her. It was as simple as that.

Sara couldn't believe her ears. She knew something had to be going on but never suspected it would come to this. Or perhaps this was exactly what she had secretly been waiting for. Grudgingly she admitted to herself that she was thrilled to learn the girl liked her. And she could in fact trace the moment her mundane life suddenly took a turn for the better. It was shortly after conversing with the girl following her near expulsion. She tracked the girl's home address and made her way over. She was alone in the house when she got there. The house was small and looked neglected, unlike the clearly very loved bike parked in the yard. Knocking on the screen door, it was opened several seconds later. "What do you want?" Jake barked at her.

"I wanted to let you know you aren't expelled."

"Great, like I care." Jake shrugged, still standing in the doorway, blocking her teacher's view of the inside.

"I think you do care. And I care too. I didn't mean that I didn't want you in my class, all I meant was that it would be nice to be spoken to with respect, just like you like to be spoken to with respect."

Jake lowered her eyes to the ground, shuffling the toe of her boot against the stone. "Fine. I'm sorry for speaking to you like that. I didn't mean it. Are we done here?" The mask of indifference was firmly back in place.