The Favorite Student

***

Chloe Chambers stared at her left ring finger; there was a hint of a tan line where her engagement ring should be. She knew she shouldn't care what the others thought, and she shouldn't be hiding her engagement ring every morning. Still, Chloe didn't want anyone to know about her personal life. Hopefully, in six months, it wouldn't matter.

At twenty-seven, she was young for a high school teacher. She also looked young for her age. Young enough for every co-worker, every parent or visitor to remark when seeing her for the first time that they assumed she was a student. They would laugh, and Chloe had to smile, rictus-like. She needed something new.

She could hear a growing wave of gossiping and yelling from outside her door. Shit. She glanced at her watch; Chloe had another class in a minute. They filled in, one by one, talking amongst themselves. She felt invisible to them, a small mercy to Chloe. They slowly quieted down, she would just walk around her desk to the front of the class, and her students knew she was ready to begin. Any kid still talking would experience a well-practiced death glare from Chloe until they shut their mouth. Once the room hit dead silence, Chloe started talking about English literature.

She hadn't been a teacher long, maybe getting close to three years. Chloe never thought about becoming one. After college, many things fell apart, jobs left, bouncing around the Midwest, hooking up with the worst type of guy. Chloe had no real choice but to listen to her mother and join a teaching training program. Months later, she began teaching English Literature and in Iowa, living with an executive obsessed with the organic farming industry.

Hoover High School was her second school. Soon she would be looking for another school to teach. Darren had promised her that he would take her somewhere away from here when he proposed. He always liked promising her things, rarely delivered. Darren had told her that they should be leaving Iowa by next June. She guessed that's why he got her a diamond from Tiffany's, collateral on his promise.

Standing up, Chloe took a slow lap around her classroom as her students worked on their assignments. She cleared her throat a couple of times, catching some students on their phones. They weren't trying to cheat; that would be something that Chloe would respect. They were just sending each other memes. She gave them a glare and continued her patrol.

Maybe she should have just ignored it. It was less than ten years ago when Chloe was on the other side of the classroom. She was doing the same during tests, messaging friends about parties after school. She would skip the last period every Friday, saying that she was enrolled in that class by mistake, that she was in the library instead. It was easier back then. Chloe wrinkled her nose; or maybe it wasn't. They have the same social media controlling them, but at least they had the pretense of MeToo protection.

Having done enough walking, Chloe returned to her desk. A gentle snowfall caught her attention, and she stared at the window, thinking of a plan. It was coming close to the end of the day; she could tell everyone to leave early. If the vice principal said anything, she could blame the snow. Chloe could even say that she lives far away and the roads would be a nightmare. None of the faculty knew where she lives, only that she has been in Iowa for two years.

It was Darren's idea to leave Ann Arbor and go west. Chloe thought of California, Washington, or Colorado. Even Chicago would have been fine for her. Iowa wasn't the top of her list. He did argue that it was technically closer to the west coast than Ann Arbor. He said he was working on some deal to set them for life. She could have the wedding that she always wanted, he promised her. Their kids could go to any private school. Thinking about children just made her stomach turn.

Chloe checked her watch; there were ten minutes left. She checked her email, deleting the annoying group messages the school would send every twenty minutes. With that done, Chloe checked out some houses in Zillow. After looking at photos of a townhome in Portland, it finally turned three. She told her students to hand in their essays and went back to looking at condos. As a stack of papers began to pile on the corner of her desk, Chloe rolled her eyes. She could just not bother reading them and grade them all Bs and Cs.

A bruised hand then quickly got her attention. She looked up and saw that it belonged to Travis McCray, a tall senior with an angular face and dirty blond hair. Chloe looked back at his hand; tiny cuts marked his fingers. Also, his knuckles were swelling. Had he been fighting? There was also a couple of bruises up his arm. Travis was quiet, only interacted with other students if forced to. While his test scores were okay, it always felt like he could do better. Maybe he was distracted by things happening at home. A drunk parent, perhaps.

Chloe nodded back at him and watched Travis leave. Shit. She had to remember this. Whatever she felt about the job, the long hours, the meager pay and annoying kids, she still had to report anything suspicious. Chloe wrote his name on a post-it and the word 'bruise,' putting it in her draw. She will talk to him when she has the chance.

"I need a drink," Chloe said out loud.

***

Her phone then buzzed. It was a reminder; she needed to buy a Christmas tree. Also, decorations. And lights. The house was utterly absent with any holiday decorations, and Chloe was the only one annoyed about it. Darren argued why waste all the effort for only a couple of weeks. On hearing that, she called him a lazy bastard. He took it as affectionate teasing and smiled back at her. She didn't know how.

Chloe spent around ten minutes walking from one side of the store to the other; still, she couldn't find the fresh Christmas trees. Her cart was filled with holiday decorations. It would be her first Christmas in Iowa, and even though she was bored out of her skull, Chloe wanted some fun. She could have enjoyed an agricultural Iowan Christmas last year, but Chloe visited her mother in Michigan. With them not speaking again, she might as well enjoy one here.

She found outdoor lights but still no Christmas tree. Picking up a box, sixty-six feet long with a hundred bulbs, Chloe could try to get Darren to put them up. Maybe she could use sex as a reward, offer to do something degrading. Chloe groaned, knowing that it all depended on Darren being home longer than a day.

"Ms. Chambers?" A voice behind asked.

Turning around, Chloe found Travis standing behind her, holding a large paint tub. He had a confused look on his face, narrowing his eyes at her.

"Travis? Hi, what are you doing here?"

"I err... work here." Chloe looked down and saw that he was wearing a red apron. How did she miss that? She gently nodded back at him.

"Do you uhm... need some help?"

She turned around, still having no idea where the Christmas trees were. Shrugging her shoulders, she replied, "Christmas tree? A fresh one."

Travis smiled and said, "Yeah sure. Follow me."

Chloe nodded, dropping the box of lights into her cart and tailed him. There was a sign that she didn't see, saying that they had fresh trees outside at the back of the store.

"So, have you been working here long?" Chloe asked, trying to break the silence.

In her nearly three years of teaching, she had only interacted with a student outside of the classroom twice. At her previous school, she had ordered a pizza, and Grady Thompson delivered, immediately asking about his recent grade. She never ordered from that place again. The other time was when she was leaving a bar crawl and ran into a group of students. That was a technicality, it was June, and those students had already graduated. Luckily, she was too drunk to remember what they said.

"Yeah, since school started. Just trying to get every shift I can."

"Why is that?" "I'm just trying to get enough money so I can move. I'm sick of being in Iowa."

Chloe smiled. He could be her favorite student. The first one.

The lot outside was filled with various trees with their subtle differences. She was surrounded by firs, spruces and pines. Chloe thought about messaging Darren and asking him what kind of tree he would like, figuring that she should at least get his opinion. He'd probably say get whatever one she wants and leave him alone.

"Ms. Chambers," Travis said, picking up on her indecisiveness. "Do you know what type of tree you're looking for?"

Chloe shook her head. "Are you okay with needles on the floor?"

"Probably not."

"Okay, do you want it to last long?"

She nodded.

"How about ornaments? Do you have a lot of heavy ones?"

"No. Actually I need to buy some."

"Cool, how about the Fraser fir?" He said, bringing her to a ten-foot tree.

Looking at it, it was the perfect Christmas tree. It was out of a Hallmark movie. Travis had picked out a good one. It would fit the room perfectly, looked fresh and the right color. She then saw the price tag, and Chloe did a sharp inhale. $109.99.

"I like it. But it's too much. I can go to a church lot and get one for forty dollars."

"Yeah, you can, Ms. Chambers. But you're here now. And this is a perfect tree."

"Really?"

"With the Fraser firs. They have a fresh fragrance that doesn't overpower the room. The branches are strong to hold most ornaments. They last long. And they keep their needles. That's all the stuff you need for a Christmas tree."

Chloe smirked. "You know a lot about Christmas trees. And you're some salesman."

"How about this? Since you're my teacher, I'll use my employee discount."

"How much would that be?"

Travis paused and then grinned, "Ten percent off?"

Chloe laughed. He's very confident, she realized. Entirely different from how he was in the back of her class. She had only been teaching him since September. This was the most he had spoken. Looking back at the tree and then at Travis, Chloe shrugged her shoulders. She knew that Darren would moan at spending near hundred dollars on a tree.

"Let me ring this up for you."

Chloe smiled and nodded back to him. He put the tree through a netting machine, turning it into a long wooden sausage. Carrying it on his broad shoulders, Travis led her back to the front of the store.

She saw another teenager in a red apron wave at Travis. As soon as he got her student's attention, he yelled, "Hey Travis! Remember to watch your hands. Those trees are biters!"

Travis rolled his eyes and ignored him.

"What's that about? "Oh, I forgot to wear my work gloves when I was in the back and I hurt my hands."

Chloe sighed, relieved. Yes, she was happy that one of her students wasn't being physically abused. But also, Chloe was pleased that she didn't need to call his parents, speak to the necessary authorities and do all the paperwork. Had she even met his parents? She could barely remember the last parent-teacher conference. She made sure each meeting was only ten minutes long. She finished way too early and ended up in a nearby bar.

After paying for everything, Travis followed her to her car and secured the tree to the roof.

"Thank you for your help, Travis," Chloe said, opening her door.

"It's fine. I will see you at school."

"Yeah," Chloe smiled.

***

Friday again, and Chloe sat behind her desk. She tried to ignore the clock or her watch. The day had been one of those long days where she wanted to get home and finish a bottle of wine. Dan, the vice-principle, cornered her at lunch, asking her to chaperone the dance next week. He asked her more in a rhetorical way, like he always does, expecting her just say yes.

Her phone then buzzed. It was a message from Darren. She didn't need to read it. Chloe had caught him leaving in the morning with an overnight bag. His text was going to say how sorry he was, that he would be away for the weekend and that he would make it up to her. Chloe closed her eye so she couldn't roll them. She might ask for a new car for Christmas, see what he says.

The bell rang, and Chloe was free.

She watched her class slowly empty, occasionally wishing the departing students a good weekend. In the classroom corner, she saw Travis slowly putting his books away. She remembered what he said, how he's trying to get enough money to leave the city. It felt weird for Chloe to have some kind of kinship with a student. She could help.

Chloe waited until he reached her desked. "Err... Travis, can you stick around. I need a quick word."

Travis nodded and hovered in front of her.

Chloe waited, letting the last student leave before speaking. Once the door slammed shut, she began. "So, how is work?"

Travis shrugged and said, "It's okay. But I'm getting less shifts. I think they are letting the older workers the first pick. I'm not even working this weekend."

"Lucky me," Chloe replied. She stood up and walked around her desk. Looking up, she remembered how Travis was at least a foot taller than her. "Do you want to make fifty dollars?"

He gave a nervous smile and said, "Yeah." His tone was non-committal, like he was waiting for where she was going before saying something definitive.

Chloe explained that she still hadn't put the decorations and needed help. She told him about Darren and that he was on a business trip but described him as a boyfriend instead of her fiancé. Travis asked for a breakdown of what needed to be done. She explained that he just had to put up the outdoor lights, some decorations, a relatively simple job. He agreed, and Chloe wrote down her address, suggesting he come around after two.

***

Travis got out of his car and figured he got the right house. It was the only one on the street with no lights or holiday decorations. Just a lonely Christmas wreath stuck to the door. This was going to be weird, he thought, going to a teacher's house. There was a promise of money, but he felt he shouldn't be here.

He pressed on the Ring doorbell and waited, positioning himself in front of the camera. The door opened, and his teacher stood smiling back at him, looking hot. She was wearing tight navy yoga pants and a cream color fleece top. Her normally wavy brown hair was tied back in a ponytail. This was a different look than he had been used to, a completely sexier one. He shifted nervously, making sure that his growing cock wouldn't be invisible in his sweatpants.

Travis inhaled, regaining his composure. "Hi Ms. Chambers," he said, his voice nearly creaking.

Chloe shook her head. "Oh, I don't like that. How about this? Since we are outside of the classroom and you're doing a job for me, you can call me Chloe." She stared at him with her dark blue eyes widening and then grinned.

He nodded back at her, wondering if she was going to pop in his head during his alone time. Travis always found her attractive. Though she would walk around the school in ill-fitting clothing with a face that screamed that she wanted to be somewhere else, he knew that behind that there was a sexy woman.

"Did you get here fine?"

"Yeah."

"Did your parents give you a ride?"

Travis smirked at her and chuckled. He shook his head and said, "No. I drove."

"Okay." Chloe narrowed her eyes; there was something behind that. "Do you want anything to drink? A soda? Juice? Water?"

"I'm okay. Thanks." Travis then inhaled, smelling cinnamon.

"You can smell the cookies?" Chloe grinned. "They're still baking. When you have a break, you can have some."

"Thanks. I should get started."

"Follow me," Chloe said, walking past him. She led him around the back. "Be careful around here. Sometimes there's ice on the patio stones."

"Uh-huh," Travis replied, slowly nodding his head as he followed behind her.

Staring at her ass, he was too busy to remember what his teacher warned him about. The yoga pants perfectly accentuated the curves of her ass. This was going to affect him later. If she wasn't wearing a shapeless skirt, she would usually have on baggy pants that showed no figure. But right now, Travis could see she has a perfect bubble butt.

Chloe nodded, leading him to the garage, and explained what she wanted to put up. String lights attached to every possible space, wrapped around the windows and columns, icicle-style mini-lights to the porch, net lights to the bushes and two-wire reindeer decorations for the yard. It wasn't too bad.

"How long do you think it would take you to do everything?" Chloe asked. "I don't want to rush you or anything."

"Nah, it's okay," Travis smiled, "It shouldn't take too long. Maybe two hours?"

"Perfect," Chloe said, "If you need anything, I'll be upstairs."

Travis nodded and watched her leave. He started with the reindeers first; it didn't take too long to assemble, but the problem was securing it. The frozen ground was being a tough bastard. After that was done, he started checking on the lights, seeing if they all worked before climbing up on the ladder.

Upstairs, Chloe stared at the massive pile of clothes that she had dumped on her bed. Looking back at her closet, she barely made a dent. It was still overflowing. She had been meaning to do this for a while. There was a bag in the corner for clothes she would donate to Goodwill. As the closet slowly emptied out and the donation bag became filled, something pink caught Chloe's attention.

Rummaging deeper into her closet, she pulled a Victoria's Secret bag. Chloe remembered, she bought it last year as an early Christmas present for Darren. She never got to wear it. They had a big argument, probably about him working all the time, then drove to Michigan for the holidays. Peaking into the bag, she saw bright red material. It probably still fit her.

"Fuck it," she said out loud.

Chloe pulled the fleece top over her head and threw it on the bed. She then yanked down her yoga pants and nearly fell. Stumbling to her bed, Chloe sat on the edge as she peeled the tight pants off. Standing back up, she reached behind and unhooked her bra. As that fell to the ground, Chloe quickly pulled down her panties. Now completely nude, she reached into the bag and pulled the lingerie. Ripping the tags off, Chloe slowly slid the delicates over her body.

Chloe then stepped in front of the full-length mirror, letting her hair down. Seeing her reflection, she asked herself why she was stuck with Darren. She's hot and could get any man. The red lace bra perfectly cupped her taut breast. She gently batted them, liking how they bounced. A healthy C-cup that looked big due to her lean frame. Chloe then lowered her hands and pulled on the waistband of her matching red thong. She then spun around and looked over her shoulder, her ass looking glorious.

Chloe then grabbed her phone. She had to take some photos. She could send it to Darren; maybe it would entice him to return home. Chloe knew he would probably reply that he was doing this for her or some other bullshit. She had something else in mind.

It was late at night, and she couldn't remember how but Chloe found herself on Reddit and checking out the Gone Wild sub. It was amazing and very sexy. Going through thousands of posts of nudes and the occasional erections, she found a cross-post that had been glued in her brain for the last couple of days.

It was from a different sub, Teachers Gone Wild. What looked like teachers from all schools, kindergarten to high school, posting anything from quick flashes to nudes to straight-up fucking. Some of the photos were taken at home, but many were taken at school. Some had the heads cropped out, while others showed them grinning madly at the camera.

They looked happy. And Chloe wanted that. The thought of stripping down just to her panties in her dusty, dull classroom electrified her brain. Giving her a sense of deep thrill that she hadn't experienced in so long. She was going to do that, Chloe said to herself, any day soon. Maybe it was wrong to seek validation from strangers, but Chloe desperately needed something to distract her until June.