The New Principal Ch. 22

22.

After a quick shower for the both of us, we arranged ourselves back in the library with a pot of good strong black tea.

Tess had draped my robe oh-so-strategically over her marvelous body, and I was back in sweats.

She had already taken down a big tumbler of water so she could sip a little more reservedly at her tea as she thought how to begin her story.

"I'll say this, Mister Ben Lee, you've certainly caused more than a little shakeup in my world."

"To be fair, I think I'd win the prize for having their world shaken up."

She laughed, but there was concern in her expression.

"Dammit, Ben. I really didn't know how this all way going to go. Okay. So, here's the big picture. I used to be on the Board of Directors here at... Well, I suppose I should call it the Bright Hall Academy now. I rather like the name change, by the way, and all the other changes you've been making. Being on the board was nice. I was able to serve without being in town permanently, so it didn't impact my day job."

I leaned back, getting the impression that this wouldn't be the first bombshell Tess was going to drop that evening, but deciding to hold off on my questions.

She paused, as if waiting for me to interrupt. Then she smiled.

"I was... removed from my position several years ago. The specific reasons aren't important right now, but, well, the main thing is that Melissa Sten found out about my little trick. She was... is one of the most brilliant people I've ever known. She wanted to figure out how it worked... biologically, physiologically. I agreed, but then her methods went a little too far. And that's saying something. I'm no saint, you know that much about me. But Melissa... She... well, she thought that the key to the whole thing was to be found in the brain chemistry of the individuals involved. She decided that I was too important to risk, but other people? She said she just wasn't getting the data she needed. She wanted to do more... invasive examinations. We had a falling out. I refused to be involved in the... vivisection that would be required to get the data she said she needed."

Telling this story was taking a toll on Tess. She paused to sip her tea with slightly trembling hands. I was convinced that there were a good many details being left out, but I wasn't sure whom she was trying to protect.

"Anyway, she had a good deal of clout on the board. She isn't that great about reading people. I think she assumed I could be pressured. It wasn't pretty. I haven't been back here since."

She looked out the window. It was totally dark out, but it was as if she could see the whole town.

"So Melissa knew about the trick." Tess nodded and sipped tea as I talked it through. "Makes sense that she would leave whatever cushy job she got in Seattle to come back then. Mr. Grant is her little minion, and he must have gotten in touch with her, and got whatever he used to spike my drink from her. Convoluted, but makes a sort of sense. That also explains the experiments that he's been using on the students."

"Experiments?"

I filled her in on the details of what had been going on and what I saw the previous night from the camera in the campus nurse's office.

"That's what I had expected. It seems like she is continuing her experiments, trying to synthesize the trick, with some success too. Back when I was working with her, she never had anything so effective. But something must have gone wrong with the mickey that they dosed you with. I don't think she would purposefully take the trick away from you. On the other hand, that might make you safer. If you don't have the trick, then there's no reason to bleed you or crack open your head."

"Well, that's something, anyway."

"Does she know you've lost it though?"

"I don't think so. The way Mr. Grant was talking on the phone, it seemed like he wanted me back in the hospital. I guess I would be more accessible to them there?"

"Yeah. So that will need to be step one. Sten and Grant need to be convinced that you've lost the trick. That should make things a little less dangerous, but it also might let us get you back on campus, which would be important for our next steps."

"Important for what? I mean, I'm not lying, I'm happy to have you here, Tess, but what are you planning? Why are you actually here?"

"Ah. That's another part of the story." She looked at me and smiled weakly. "I was the one who got you hired on here. I was completely stunned when I met you back at your old school. Imagine it. I had never in my life run into anyone else who had the trick, but there you were, right in my son's school. One little 'pop' and you're pushing my buttons like I've never imagined. I don't deny that all that time with you was a lot of fun, but also, I had to be sure it was real. You never asked what I did as a job, did you?"

"I did ask. You never told."

She chuckled. "I'm with the FBI, well, more or less. Ever since I left here, we've been trying to find a way to arrange a closer look at the good Dr. Melissa Sten. She has quite a long and sketchy history: fraud, extortion, embezzlement, and a good deal of other stuff we don't know too much about. So, when I found you, I found a way to lure her out."

"So I was bait?"

"Yes. I imagine you'll hate me, but you were too perfect to pass up. Didn't you wonder how everything happened so quickly and easily? The hiring, the interview? The previous principal was awful. All we had to do was expose some of his more egregious legal liabilities and they had no choice but to fire him immediately. Then I was able to encourage the board to hire you on."

I stayed silent, trying to think this through.

"And it's worked. You brought her back. She's running her experiments, and if all goes well, we'll get you installed back as principal and Sten and Grant bundled off to prison."

"For what? What can you arrest them for?"

"Ever wonder what is going on at the spa? That's the reason I had to come and visit you so quickly. Things didn't go well for her up in Seattle, and she's in a bind. She got in deep with some dangerous folks, and I think she's decided that the way to clear her accounts is to make a big sale."

"The students?"

"The students. What you heard Grant talk about fits with the information my team has been putting together over the past weeks. They have to be working on another version of the synthetic trick that's designed for the victim, and that's probably going through the spa workers. She's promised a group of young docile virgins to a truly horrific group of individuals. I think that's probably the reason you're still around."

"I'll take the fall."

"You'll take the fall. But if she doesn't have your trick, I don't think she can make her new synthetic trick. She may have the students, but they won't be as docile as she's promised."

"This is way too much for me to process. You're FBI?"

She chuckled again and had a bit of trouble swallowing her tea.

"That's the part of this that you can't get your mind around?"

"No... maybe that's the least absurd part of this. I guess I should be relieved. You'll be coming in and taking over then?"

"Well, I am with the FBI, but it's not clear how much support I'm going to be able to call on. I can't be seen here at all, and we need a lot more evidence before I am going to be able to convince my side to bring people in and round folks up."

I leaned back and sighed.

Tess stood up and stretched.

She looked at her watch.

"Dammit. I need to be out of here in a few hours. Can I get some sleep before I leave?" Then she smiled wider. "Can I trust you not to take advantage of a defenseless naked woman in your bed?"

"I would love to take advantage of your defenselessness. But if you need sleep that's fine. The nurse is showing up tomorrow morning, so I need to be suitably groggy. I'll skim through the videos in the basement."

She rewrapped the robe around her and started toward the door.

"So you don't hate me?"

"I'm not sure yet. Probably not as strong as hate..."

"I'm not a nice person, really. But I can see it in others. You are a good man, better than most. And I do like you, and I am sorry that I put you in this position. Not sorry in that I regret it. It was the right thing to do, but sorry that it has cause you so much grief. And I'm also very glad it's you here. I can't think of anyone else who would have handled this like you have."

And with that, she headed off to bed.

I went down to the camera room, and I scanned through recordings, but it was almost impossible to focus. Luckily, it didn't seem like much was going on. Veronica left her camera covered. Jennifer wasn't in the teacher's office much at all. Even Mr. Grant didn't even show up as far as I could tell.

It was very early morning when I climbed out and went to reheat some stew for breakfast. I kept all the lights off downstairs as I went to work. Tess confirmed that someone was out there watching, and there was no need to give whoever it was any reason to look more closely.

Everything ready and on a tray, I went back up to find a lovely nude woman in my bed.

I set the tray down on a bedside table and nudged her.

"Tess... Time for you to head out."

She rolled over on her side and mumbled something, then froze.

"God dammit. I was having the most beautiful dream."

She twisted over onto her back and then skootched to sit up, leaning on the headboard. The sheet dropped away, exposing her generous breasts.

She giggled like a much younger woman.

"It is so nice to have a young man around who will look at me like you do. You know, without me flipping the switches in his head."

"Call on me any time you need to be ogled. or fondled. or just straight out fucked."

I smiled and picked up the tray, placing it down on the bed.

"I know you need to get out of here, but I heated up some breakfast for you. If you haven't been sleeping much, I assume you haven't been eating well, either."

"It's not from that nurse is it?"

"No, I haven't been eating any of that. This is Kimberly's homemade stew."

"Ah, Kimberly. I'm so happy to hear how you've promoted her and put her in charge. She always was the best brain in the entire office." She picked up a spoon and dug in, and she ate quickly. "I do need to be out of here right away. What are you doing with the meals?"

"Kimberly, Veronica, and Jennifer are taking them home and putting them in the disposal."

"Good. If you don't mind, I'll take one with me. I might be able to figure out what's in it, I assume it's one of Melissa's private concoctions."

In a flash, her bowl was clean and she was up out of the bed facing away toward the window. She stood there for a moment, totally nude. I was still getting used to reading the trick, but I didn't need it to sense that she was trying not to get turned on.

"I need to leave right now."

"Yes, you do." I stood up and walked behind her. "You need to leave now, because I can feel you. I know that if you don't leave now, it's not going to be easy to."

I gave her butt a friendly slap, and her reaction was to hop up on her toes and purr at the same time.

"Leave. Get dressed and go."

She groaned in frustration. "Right. God, I can still feel how you stretched me out, it's just divine... Promise me a rematch?"

"Any time but now."

"Fine."

She quickly got dressed and then pulled something out of her pants pocket and handed it to me.

"Ms Rai is taking care of all your tech, right?"

"Right."

"Good. She seems more than capable. This little thing is like an old text pager. It can do messages, but nothing else, and only between you and me. It should be secure enough. You can show it to her, she'll get a kick out of it, but don't go waving it around."

"How much can I say about you?"

"Keep it among your little hottie harem but no further. They know everything else anyway, right?" I nodded. "Then those three can know as much as you do."

"Oh, what's the deal about whoever's watching my house?"

"Nothing big. It's just an off-duty trooper, older dude. Just keep doing what you've been doing. Don't give him any reason to get interested. I'll be in touch."

And with that, she slunk downstairs and out of the house.

When Kimberly showed up shortly after, I tried to give her a brief rundown, but we really didn't have the time. She was so relieved that I had the trick back, we didn't get much further than that. I was wanting to show her first hand what I could do, but we both thought better of it. She said everyone was going to try to be there Friday after classes. I needed to be totally unconscious when the nurse showed up and Kimberly was going to rearrange the kitchen to make it look like she had been keeping me on my diet.

I hadn't realized how tired I really was, but I was out like a light just as Kimberly started working downstairs. I must had dropped into deep sleep quickly, because I was well and truly groggy when I felt someone shaking my shoulder.

"Mr. Lee? How are we feeling today?"

Happily, there was no need to dissemble disorientation. I mumbled incoherently, cracking my eyes open.

Suddenly there were fingers peeling my eyelids back and a penlight shining bright.

"Ohh... jeeze..."

"Well, Kimberly, he does still seem slightly better. I'm not sure about the lack of energy, though. The new meals should pep him up a little bit though. Why don't you go down and heat up one of the new breakfasts and we'll make sure he gets it down."

I glanced over at Kimberly and saw her eyes widen with anxiety. I didn't see any good way around it, so I nodded as subtly as I could.

"Ohh... Okay, Mrs. Agate. I'll... I'll be back in a moment."

She didn't seem comfortable, but she left the room and I heard her go down the stairs.

Mrs. Agate went about her business, taking my temperature and checking my pulse again.

I closed my eyes and tried to seem more out of it than I actually was.

I felt the cold metal of a stethoscope on my chest for a moment. I tried to breathe deeply and slowly.

"Now, Mr. Lee, roll over on your side."

When I remained unmoving, she put her hands under my shoulder and hefted me over. She was a lot stronger than she looked.

I felt her hand with the stethoscope slide up under my t-shirt and the cold metal rested on my back.

It seemed strange, though. She kept one hand on my back for quite a while. Then I heard something else behind me. It sounded like she was fumbling around on my bedside table. I tried to keep as calm as possible while listening with all the focus I could muster.

I didn't hear anything else that I could decipher before she pulled her hand back. Then again, just like during her first visit, she snaked her hand down into my pants and grabbed my cock. She squeezed it hard and then withdrew her hand.

I grunted involuntarily, and decided that I wouldn't be able to feign unconsciousness too much longer.

"Huh?" I rolled over on my back. "Ah... Mrs. Agate. How am I doing?"

"About the same, I'm afraid, Mr. Lee. But remember, it's only been a few days since you left the hospital. We knew the recovery would take some time."

Right then Kimberly came into the room with the tray of food. There was a burrito on one plate and a couple of bowls of fruit alongside three glasses of water.

"Oh, Kimberly, that was very thoughtful of you, but remember, he can't have anything outside his menu."

"Oh, yes, I know Mrs. Agate. The fruit is for you and me."

"You are so kind. I already had breakfast, but I suppose I could have a nibble. Mr. Lee, the burrito is my favorite. It's got egg and vegetables and even my own homemade salsa. All on the permitted list from the nutritionist."

Then she looked at me expectantly.

"I'm... really not that hungry right now. I'll eat it after I wake up a bit."

"No such thing. Kimberly, you've been making sure he eats everything, yes?" She nodded. "Right. You need to eat this whole thing so you're ready to have your lunch in a few hours. Eat up!"

I wasn't really sure how to get around it, so I took a modest bite. It really did taste good, especially for having been reheated. Kimberly looked at me anxiously, and Mrs. Agate didn't take her eyes off of me as she popped various pieces of fruit into her mouth.

So I ate it.

Only after the last bite was swallowed did the nurse stand up and gather her things.

"Well, now I'm nearly late. You need to learn to eat a bit faster, Mr. Lee. Even if you don't feel you have the appetite, the only way you'll get better is by getting that fuel into your body."

She reached down and grabbed a final grape from her bowl.

"Thank you again, Kimberly, for helping out with this. Please do continue to monitor what he's eating."

"Of course, Mrs. Agate."

"Very well. I'll see you both next Tuesday, then. Goodbye, Mr. Lee. I hope to find you in better shape with each visit."

With her things in her bag, she left the room, with Kimberly following her. When she picked up her thermometer from the bedside table, I saw my cellphone lying there, face up. I always put the phone face down so the notification light doesn't bother me. So that's what she was fiddling with over there.

Kimberly came back in the room after escorting Mrs. Agate out.

"Ben, what..."

I cut her off with a sharp gesture of a finger across my throat. I pointed to the phone and tapped my ear.

She seemed to understand, at least partially.

"What... what are we going to do with you?" Kimberly finished rather lamely, her face contorted in frustrated confusion.

An idea had been rolling around in my mind, but I needed time to think about it. I put my finger to my lips and pointed again at my cellphone.

Kimberly nodded.

"Well, I need to get in to the office. Let me get the food tray. Do you need anything?"

"No, I don't think so. I'm going to try to get up, listen to some podcasts and maybe clean up a bit. Could you drop by after work though?" I raised my hand and wrote a "V" on it with my finger. I looked at her with raised eyebrows.

Kimberly nodded in understanding. "Yes. I can come by for a little bit. I'll see you then."

She flashed me a worried look, but turned and left.

I glanced over at my phone to see if anything looked different. It was face up and it was placed at an angle. I was always kind of anal about putting the phone down just so. Mrs. Agate had clearly moved it.

I was still awfully tired, and knew I needed to get some rest. The next few days were going to be dicey. So I snuggled down into my bed and tried to get some sleep.

I woke up in the later afternoon. Still a bit groggy, I dragged myself to the shower. The spray of water brought consciousness around and I started to puzzle my way through the next few steps of my grand return to Bright Hall Academy.

I figured it wouldn't be too upsetting to whoever was watching my house if I were to go be downstairs to fix a bit of a snack, so down I went.

There really were only a couple of places the house could be watched from, and almost all of the windows that faced those areas were on the first floor. The bedroom, library and other upstairs rooms were basically safe from prying eyes, but down in the kitchen, I needed to be a bit more circumspect.

That didn't mean I was going to eat more of Agate's prepackaged surprises. I looked in the fridge. God bless Kimberly Adams. The stew was gone, but she had stocked me up on what looked like homemade lasagna. There was even a big bowl-full of salad and some garlic bread. I was a spoiled, spoiled man.

I heated up a portion and poured out some iced tea into a tumbler, then went upstairs into the library to eat. Very gauche, to be sure, but hey, so was I.

I had deliberately left my cell phone in the bedroom, but I grabbed Tess's crazy little pager box. As I started in on my meal, I looked over the pager. It looked a lot like those old Blackberry phones, with the tiny physical keypad, but the screen was just a few lines of black and white text. There was a message waiting for me.