Acceptance in Student's Arms

Author's note: All the characters and events are fictitious and have no resemblance (okay, some resemblance), with the real events. All the characters in the story are above 18 years of age.

This is my first attempt at writing a story. It might seem a little slow in the beginning but the wait should be worth it.

***

Katherine Wales shifted in her chair uneasily. This was the last place she'd wanted to be in right now. It wasn't the first time she had to monitor the students in the detention room, but this time, it was only a single student, and she was the reason he was put in there. Jeffery Hamilton, an eighteen-year-old youth, an average student, somebody who never stood out, either in academics, or sports, or mischief, sat quietly across her table, engrossed in what seemed to be his calculus homework. In any other circumstance, this would look like an ordinary situation, given the boy's innocent bespectacled face and slim build. An hour had passed and she noticed Jeffery, who probably out of boredom or pleading, raised his head and looked at Katherine. "How dare he!" was the first thought that came to Katherine's mind and she met his gaze with a glare of anger and disappointment.

It has been four years since Katherine had been teaching Mathematics in the Mid-Coast High. In that time, she had made peace with the fact that wherever she would go, one way or the other she'd be mocked for her physique, either directly or passively. Since her childhood, she had been the recipient of taunts and insults over her weight. As time flew, she felt her skin thicken over the insults, but at times, it would still become unbearable. And adding to the misery, it was her surname, that people would automatically morph into a torturous yet uninventive insult, calling her a "whale" then, and Ms. "whales" now. She knew it was inevitable, and it barely took a day in this school for the news of this development to reach Katherine's ears. She stopped paying much attention to such matters and was content if the students behaved decently, at least when in front of her.

In the timespan of four years, at an age of 38, she had developed habits that definitely helped her lose a few pounds, bringing her weight to 220 lbs. She could clearly observe the reduction in her thighs and tummy, giving her bosom and buttocks an ampler appearance. However, there was still fat deposited on her cheeks, making her face look a bit puffy. The only silver lining she thought was her decent height of 5 feet and a little below 8 inches, that did not make her body look disproportionate. A few years ago, she would not have thought of making drastic changes to her lifestyle. Over her lifetime, she had become accustomed to being called fat, mostly subtly, under the guise of "chubby" and "healthy", and overtly on occasions. And above all she had an accepting and caring boyfriend, Derek, who chose to be with her despite her supposed physical issues.

Derek worked as a civilian pilot, was decent looking and had a fairly muscular build. They met through a dating app and started seeing each other around six months ago, when Katherine was in between jobs. They were planning to move in together but Katherine insisted on waiting until she got a decent and permanent work. After all, she didn't want to become a burden on him. But keeping that aside, their relationship was working out smoothly. Being a pilot, Derek had to do a lot of traveling, but would manage to find time to be with her. And even though, their relationship started a bit late, they managed to maintain a healthy sexual lifestyle. Things seemed to going well, at least until that day.

She was called for an interview for the post of Mathematics lecturer in one of the neighborhood schools. After interviewing at and being rejected from several places, she was not feeling much hopeful and just wanted to get it over with. She was about to leave, when the phone buzzed.

"Hi Derek".

"Hey Babe!"

"Can you make it quick? The interview won't happen itself."

"Whoa! Nice to hear your voice too."

"Sorry! Just too stressed. I really don't want to miss out on this one."

"And you will not. And when you'll get selected, I have a couple of wines waiting in my apartment."

"Aww thanks. At least one of us thinks so. Wait! Your apartment? You mean you are here!"

"Yeah! Just landed at six. Let me know when the interview and I'll be at your place in a jiffy."

"And I thought we were meeting at your apartment."

"You are welcome to come here. But you won't need alcohol to get high. The stench itself will knock you down."

"Right! In that case, see you at six."

"Best of luck. Go get'em."

"Thanks. And I am not a kid anymore. Bye."

***

Though she did not enter the interview with high hopes and confidence, she was content with the way the interview went. And therefore, it hurt even more, when she was rejected. She was sitting quietly on a bench outside the school, dealing with the tempest of emotions hurling inside her. She could not muster the strength to get up, let alone get home. She took out her phone to call Derek, but decided against it. His voice would definitely get her choked up. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, she decided to go to Derek's house. Being alone at school wasn't helping her and she could not bear to be alone at home. She walked to her car, got inside and drove to Derek's place.

After twenty minutes of drive, she stopped the car in front of Derek's home and noticed a red car, different from Derek's, parked a few feet away. Had Derek forgot to mention that he would be meeting someone or deliberately left it out? She was too tired and upset to reach any conclusions. She got out of the vehicle and reached the entrance. Just when, she was about to ring the doorbell, she noticed the voices coming from the inside. A part of her brain tried to convince her it to be television, but still, instead of reaching for the doorbell, she used the spare key to open the door and entered the hallway. The voices from inside grew louder and seemed to be coming from Derek's bedroom. Since she was familiar with the house, she instinctively walked towards the sound. By now it was clear that the voices were of a lady and of course, Derek. As soon as she reached the bedroom's door, she heard the woman enquire:

"How are you still able to put up with that swine of a woman?"

"Respect! Joan!" Derek reprimanded. "Do not call the woman a swine. She has been nicknamed a whale and that's what we should stick to. Though I admit, she does sweat like pig sometimes."

Until the "swine", Katherine still believed the conversation was about somebody else. The realization came when she heard him call her a "whale". She knew at that moment that her misfortune was still not done with her and rejection was just the tip of the iceberg.

"And why are we even talking about her? I'll have to see her anyway in the evening and console her sorry ass for probably failing again. Can we focus at the work at hand?"

"Aye aye captain!" affirmed Joan.

Katherine was on the verge of exploding in tears. She thought of running back to her home, and if she had any luck, she would get caught in an accident midway, and die, or so she thought. But she chose to end things right there and then. Instead of barging in, she slowly made the door ajar and got the glimpse of what she was completely expecting now. Derek was lying on the bed on his back, fully naked, with his head towards the door. On top of him was Joan, mounting him in the cowgirl position, in her birthday suit. Derek was passionately groping and kneading her right breast, while furiously using his index finger to pinch and stretch the nipple on the left one. Joan had her eyes closed with ecstasy and sheer lust, while she continued riding him with urgency. Katherine could not take any further and threw the door open with a deafening thud.

Katherine was brought to the reality in the detention room with the sound of Jeffery's falling book. Jeffery picked the book from the ground, mumbled an unapologetic 'sorry', and went back to his homework. The breakup with Derek, his betrayal, all were still fresh in her mind. And then, there was today's incident.

She was to take the first lecture in Jeffery's class. Since she arrived a bit early, she decided to wait in the classroom. Most of the students would still be coming anyway. As soon as she reached the classroom and opened the door, she saw Jeffery standing in front of the board, with a black marker and a marker eraser in his hands. Her eyes drifted from Jeffery to the board, and she was horrified to see a large drawing of a whale, at the center of the board. Her seething eyes moved back and forth between the board and Jeffery's face, his lips now quivering with the fear of being caught. The only relief was that she and Jeffery were alone in the room, and hence, nobody else saw the board.

"What the fuck!" she bellowed.

"It's not... I was just..." Jeff tried to blurt out.

Katherine with sheer strength of will, controlled her urge to knock Jeffery out there and then. It wouldn't have been much of a problem, given her towering figure over Jeff's stature of 5 feet 7 inches. But you aren't just supposed to hit the student now, are you?

The news of the incident reached the principal, Mr. Xavier's, ears, courtesy of Katherine of course, and both she and Jeff were summoned to his office.

"Do you have anything to say son?" asked Mr. Xavier, a middle aged man with scant hair and transparent-framed spectacles.

"I swear! I did not do it. When I arrived in the class, the drawing was already there."

"Cut the crap Mr. Hamilton" shrieked Katherine, still enraged from the incident.

"Ms. Wales. Please let me handle it." interjected Mr. Xavier.

"I am telling you, I just wanted to erase it. I was going to when Ms. Wales..."

Katherine shot him a venomous glance. Her name on his lips seemed like a mockery.

"Mr. Hamilton, Ms. Wales even mentioned that you had a marker in your hand. Now why would you require that to erase anything?"

"I am telling you, the marker was lying on the floor, I just lifted it to keep it back on the table." Jeff defended himself, now teary-eyed.

Katherine was inclined away from believing anything that came out of Jeff's mouth. After all, that's what they all say to get away, don't they?

"Look Mr. Hamilton. What you have done is no small matter. We are not taking any harsher measures given your clean record in the school. But to ensure that such incidents do not happen in the future, you will stay after school in the detention room for 90 minutes. Also, Ms. Wales, you are given the charge of overseeing his detention."

"What? You do understand that I am the victim here. Why am I being detained with this piece..."

"Language! Ms. Wales! In our school, we do not want the detention to be a resting period for the student. The student must reflect on his mistake and try to resolve it. In this case, I believe, being in front of you would make Jeff realize his faults and the repercussions it can have on other people and himself. I expect you to cooperate in this regards as well, please."

"Fine!" agreed Katherine with a visible reluctance.

And that's how Jeffery and Katherine ended up in the detention room. Every passing moment there felt suffocating to Katherine, her eyes continuously drifting towards her digital wristwatch. She finally breathed a sigh of relief, as the numbers "17:00" were displayed on the screen.

She stood up from her chair and chided Jeffery, "Mr. Hamilton, though it's practically impossible for people like you, I hope you will learn something from this experience."

"Yes, Ms... Katherine." blurted Jeffery without actually looking at her.

"You may leave now." Katherine completed the formality of detention in charge and stormed off.

***

While leaving the room, Katherine decided to visit her desk to collect few of the quiz papers from the last day. Though she did not have any plan or engagements, she was still eager to get back home, and if possible, either drown in booze or maybe an actual sea. While she was about to get into the car, she heard the voices around the corner.

"Look David, you got me. Fine? Can I go now?"

"What's with the attitude runt? Looks like you did not learn a damn thing from detention, the lesson being 'Do not fuck with me.' Or probably, you did like being detained with her? What, did she engulf you in and spit you out? Maybe that's the only kind of kiss you will ever get? In fact, instead of a whale, I should have drawn her sucking you in one of her holes. You would have been treated much better then."

"And you would have been suspended a bit sooner." answered Katherine, joining the conversation. She could see the horrified look on David's face while Jeffery had the same façade of expressionlessness, though he had a mild swelling below his left eye, and his spectacles in his left hand. David tried to open his mouth to say something, but received an ear shattering blow from Katherine. The impact made him lose balance and fall down, which was a bit surprising for a well-built 5'11'' man.

"I am too tired to continue right now, but consider yourself expulsed."

"I am sorry Ms. Wales. Jeffery here..."

"GET THE FUCK OFF." screamed Katherine.

David was in no position to argue, or better, plead for forgiveness. He quietly got up, gave a threatening glance at Jeffery and walked away.

Katherine looked at Jeffery, who too seemed shocked from what transpired in front of him. He met her eyes for a moment, and started to leave.

"Mr. Hamilton, I am so terribly sorry. I should not have... Why didn't you say... Oh! I am really sorry." Katherine managed to mutter despite being at loss of words.

"It's ok Ms. Wales. I am accustomed to these things now. Probably because my body won't allow me to fight back anyways. Just trying to manage the high school and get out somehow."

The flood of her own experiences started to dawn on Katherine. She had been bullied her entire childhood. Her hands moved on her own and before she even knew, she pulled Jeffery towards herself and held him in a caring embrace. She was practically a stranger to him but this still seemed the right action. Being a bit taller, her lips ended near his ear. And even though, the hug started as a reaction to pity and empathy, she could not help but notice the presence of this strange man between her arms. Probably, it had been a long time since she embraced a man with intimacy.

A moment passed and she felts Jeff's hands on both sides of her waist. "What are you doing Ms. Wales?" Jeff asked bewildered, gently pushing her away.

"I am sorry. I couldn't think clearly." Katherine tried to clarify, moving away from him. "It is just that I have been bullied my entire childhood, you can understand why. It's such a... shame, I was so focused on myself, I couldn't notice your situation."

"It's... It's fine. Maybe I should just go home now."

"I am sorry for what happened. How would you explain your face to your parents? They would surely be upset." Katherine asked with concern.

"I seem to be in luck, I guess. Both Mom and Dad are out of town for a work related trip until Monday. I am free to cry myself to death for two days." answered Jeff with a tone of sarcasm and relief.

Katherine could not think what to say but continued, "Umm... I don't think it is healthy to be all by yourself right now. Maybe you could reach out to any of your friends or somebody you know."

"Thanks for the concern. Well, I can always go to David. He can keep me occupied for a couple of days." Jeff replied in the same tone, but the relief in his voice seemed to be replaced by pain.

Katherine has gone through a similar phase in her life and understood it very well. She did not want Jeffery to experience the similar misery.

"Well. In that case, let me make it up to you. You can home with me."

"Excuse me!" exclaimed Jeffery with a visible surprise.

"I am just saying, you can spend some time at my place. I don't live very far. And the school is off tomorrow anyways. Maybe grab a snack, watch a movie, hang out or something."

"I don't know. I mean you are my teacher. And we don't even know each other that well anyways."

"Look Jeffery, I am terribly sorry. I have been in the similar phase and really don't want you to be all alone right now."

"But, I don't want to be a burden or anything. Don't you have any other plans?"

"Not really. And besides, I live alone so you won't be bothering anyone anyways."

"Um. Ok. I guess. Maybe I could kill a few hours at your place."

"Wonderful! Come along, my car is that way."

***

After 20 minutes of ride, Katherine stopped the car in front of a four storied apartment building and unfastened her seatbelts. Jeffery followed the lead and got out of the car.

"Wait here a couple of minutes, I'll park the car and be back." Katherine told Jeffery and drove away to park the car. After a few minutes, Jeffery saw her walking towards him.

"Come on in. My house is on the third floor." said Katherine. Both Katherine and Jeffery went inside the building. Katherine reached the elevator door and pressed the button with an arrow pointing upwards.

"How long have you been living here?" Jeffery tried to break the silence.

"It's been around four years. It was the around the time I joined the school. I was a bit tight on budget and wanted a smaller place. Also, I wanted to get out of my previous home after... um..."

"Yes?"

"Nothing. After my breakup."

"Oh. I am sorry." said Jeff, adjusting his spectacles.

The awkwardness subsided by the opening of the elevator door. Both of them moved out into the corridor. Katherine signalled towards the room on the right, with a blue colored wooden door and number 3B.

"Here we are." announced Katherine.

Katherine unlocked the door, pushed it open, switched on the lights and both of them went inside.

"Make yourself at home. Probably watch TV. I'll just go and get into something comfortable." said Katherine, removing her coat and hurriedly moving towards the bathroom. Jeffery, still standing at the door, started to observe her house. The door opened into the living area, that had a couch at a distance of about 8 feet, facing the wall adjacent to the door. The wall had a flat screen TV attached, making the placement of the couch more strategic than aesthetic. In front of the couch was a rectangular table with a translucent glass top and supported by four wooden legs. The wall behind the couch, around twice the width, had a door to the bathroom on its leftmost end, the one which Katherine took a few moments ago. Adjacent to the bathroom was an entrance to a room, that Jeff concluded to be the bedroom. Laterally adjacent to the bedroom was the kitchen, occupying almost quarter area as that of the living room. This seemed to complete the entire apartment. With nothing specific in mind, Jeffery switched on the TV and sat on the couch.

In the bathroom, Katherine stood in front of the basin mirror, still processing the events of the day. The day had been long, in fact a bit longer than general, counting the detention hours. She splashed water on her face, still unsure how to spend time with Jeffery. The stress from the long day was weighing down her body as well. A shower seemed mandatory, she concluded. Still standing in front of the mirror, she started to unbutton her yellow polka dotted shirt, bringing her bra clad bust into view. Being overweight, she had a habit of wearing front open bras, since hooking at the back was not always convenient. Most of them were 38E, and she did not feel the need of any padding anyways. She unhooked her bra and took it off with an audible sigh of relief, unwrapping her voluptuous yet firm breasts. This was followed by stripping off her black trousers and hipster panties. Katherine now standing in her complete naked glory, diverted her gaze back to the mirror. Since she started working out, it had almost become a daily routine to observe herself in the mirror. Katherine moved her left palm across her slightly protruded tummy, hoping to get a hint of loss of any extra inches, while her right palm caressed her dark pink nipples that complemented her porcelain colored breasts. She observed the curly growth over her vagina, that perfectly matched the brunette color of her shoulder long hair. Generally, she preferred to keep them trimmed even though not shaved, but she had been a bit busy in the past couple of months. She reminded herself to get them cleaned before her date the following week.