Chapter 8
After the teacher dropped his young student off, he realized he was in a hot spot. He couldn't refuse her anymore, but he couldn't be caught with her. The only way out would be to meet her at motels. It had become much too dangerous to get together at his apartment.
He went back home and he hadn't been in his apartment ten minutes but there was a knock on the door. He cautiously opened it, and he saw the t landlady.
"Yes-"
"Mr. Kent," she began nervously, "Could I have a few words with you?"
"Why, yes-come in-"
He opened the door and let her in. She sat down, glancing over her shoulder as if expecting to see someone.
"What is it?"
"Well, I had a mysterious phone call. Someone called and asked first if you lived here. I, of course, said yes, figuring maybe it was a delivery company trying to deliver something you know. So, the next next thing that happened they up and asked if I ever saw you bring any young girl student by."
"Oh, my God!"
"Well, you can calm down," she soothed his frayed nerves. "My lips were sealed. By then I knew the score. Somebody was checking on you. Sure, I've seen the young girl but I'm not about to tell them. You've been a good tenant-quiet and all, and I suppose you were just trying to help some young girl with her homework."
"I'm so glad you understand," the teacher smiled. "I really am thankful for that-you know a lot of people would just have a lot of dirty thoughts about our relationship. But, this young girl is so anxious to learn-"
"I know," the landlady smiled, arching her eyebrow. "But school is the best place for learning, isn't it, Mr. Kent?"
"Yes, yes, it is," he enthused.
"Well, I just thought I'd alert you. I've said nothing. But if they stake the place out and she comes here again, you're headed for trouble. Don't you see?"
"I-I do see," the teacher gulped, "and I can't thank you enough for helping me."
The landlady got up, nodded and smiled, "What are we here for but to help each other?" she said, as she walked out the door.
"Thanks, again," the teacher told her, shutting the door behind her. By now, he was fit to be tied. He felt eyes were watching all over. He took a couple aspirins and went to bed.
When Melinda got home, her mother was waiting for her.
"Where have you been, baby doll?" she smirked. "Walking-"
"This late at night. It isn't safe for a beautiful, young girl like you to be out alone at night?"
"Why are you worried about me all of a sudden? Did your business at the bar fall off? Are you losing your sexual appeal? What's up?"
"How dare you talk that way to your own Mom?" Her mother walked right over to her and slapped her face.
Melinda put her hand to her face soberly.
"You shouldn't have done that!"
"I've got to get some sense in your head one way or another," her mother blurted. "You carrying on like you've gone out of your mind ... dear god, it's awful!"
Melinda went into her bedroom and lay down on the bed. But her Mom wouldn't let her be. She stalked in and said, I'I've been checking on you and don't think I haven't. I'm sure I know what's been happening."
"You're sure of nothing!"
"Not yet, baby doll, but I think I know who is molesting my little daughter?"
"Who?"
"Mr. Kent-your schoolteacher!" she smirked triumphantly, "and we'll catch you two together if there's anymore of this monkey business."
"Oh, you're sweet," Melinda laughed, "And you're dead wrong. But let me advise you, Mom-I never checked on all the men you ran through your bedroom, so don't you try to put the nails in me."
"You've got a nerve-"
"Well, the way you carried on in the bedroom right next to me all these years ... you've got a nerve!"
Melinda's Mom walked out of the room. She was indignantly hostile. The fact Melinda had told the truth had nothing to do with it. It just made her bitter indeed to think she'd been told off-and told off so expertly by her own daughter.
The next day when the teacher went to school, the Principal had placed a note in his teacher box in the reception room. It read, 'See me before you go to your class today', and he knew what to expect.
Walking down the narrow corridor leading to the Principal's office, he felt his hear begin to pound and he didn't like it. It bugged him so much he wished he could turn around, but he knew he didn't dare. Tapping on the door brought a quick response. "Come in-"
He opened the door, and the Principal smiled at him, "Come in-sit down I have something I must talk to you about."
"Yes-I want to hear-"
The teacher sat down, and the Principal smiled.
"I just hate to have to bring this matter up. But, now and then it becomes necessary to talk to a teacher. I mean talk straight from the shoulder
"Go ahead, don't pull any punches with me. I want it straight from the shoulder."
"Alright," he boomed, "I'll tell you. Melinda's Mom was here yesterday and she says she thinks Melinda is having a sex affair with somebody."
"What's that got to do with me?"
"Well, I'll tell you quite frankly I thought of you!"
"You did?" The teacher's face flushed, his throat went dry, and he never said another word. The Principal was hawk-eyed, watching every response to this lightning-bolt charge.
"Well, you remember the day you had both doors closed in your classroom-and I found you alone with Melinda."
"Yes ... and I've never kept doors closed since."
"That's good," the Principal nodded, "but there is some other evidence which is rather damaging. You see you forgot how many eyes are on a teacher. When a young kid who had the hots for Melinda followed her after school one day he caught her hanging around a car on a side street. The car was your car. He tried to lure Melinda away, but she wouldn't budge. So, the kid walked down the street and waited."
"What?"
"Yes," the Principal continued, "Waited until you came along, opened the door and let Melinda hop in and then he saw you both drive away."
"I can explain-"
"I hope you can," the Principal smiled.
"She wanted to talk to me in private about her grades. She'd been doing so poorly, she thought she'd fail."
"And did she offer sex as a substitute for doing her schoolwork?"
Angrily, the teacher demanded, "Are you trying to frame me? You know I would never touch a young student, I-I-"
"Don't be so defensive," the Principal warned coolly. "It doesn't become you when your face gets red, and it doesn't require such a denial when nothing has taken place."
The eyeball to eyeball confrontation amused the Principal for a split-second, but tortured the teacher.
"Melinda has a lot of problems," he stammered.
"I know," he nodded, "and one of them is having a body of a fifteen year old girl, going on eighteen. Kent, I know she's well-developed, nice breasts, beautiful legs, trim ankles. She's a real knockout."
"I never thought of her that way," the teacher covered quickly.
"I'm sure not," the Principal smiled. "Well, that's all I wanted to see you about. I'm sure you'll avoid the appearance of evil as the good book says, and let your students confront you in your classroom-with both doors open-and not in your car after school hours."
"Right!" He got to his feet, turned around and walked out of the office. He tried to go over everything he had said to determine if he'd left himself wide open. He realized he'd gotten too angry and he remonstrated with himself for his own responses.
As he walked to his classroom, he found himself looking at the best developed young women and he found them all very fascinating indeed. But, he told himself he'd better lay off if he didn't want to get into a lot of trouble.
The day seemed to speed by until the last class when Melinda came in. She would have to sit there so he could see she was wearing no panties. As his eyes fell on her white thighs, and he saw her curly, brown public hair, he felt himself starting to sweat. Glancing up, he saw Melinda smile. And when he glanced to the right, he saw another student smile. Looking to the left, he saw another student pick-up on what was bothering him. He felt trapped, caged in a classroom.
"Students," he began, "We begin the study of Rome today. The Roman Empire borrowed from Greece for their Gods, and for their bizarre sexual practices."
Suddenly a hand shot up in the back of the classroom.
"What's a sex-orgy, teacher?"
"A sex orgy," Mr. Kent gulped, "what's that got to do with our history lesson?"
"Orgies have a lot to do with Roman History," the student answered in a flip manner, "Could you tell us about the Roman Orgies."
"Well," the teacher h-edged, "It is a part of history-I guess it wouldn't hurt to describe some of the things that went on in Rome. For one thing they became gluttons at their feasts. They like to eat so much, they'd force themselves to vomit the food so they could eat again."
"Do you suppose they provided vomit bags at their feasts, like they provide urp bags on the planes?"
"No," the teacher said abruptly as a ripple of laughter swept acorss the classroom.
"How do you know? Were you there?" the wise-ass kid retorted.
"Now let's go on with our study-"
"You still haven't told us about the sex orgies the old Romans dug, man-tell us about them groovy wing-dings."
"Sexually, the Romans were debauched. Their minds were forever on their genitals. They liked to have ininhibited sexual parties where the main idea was for everybody to do everything he could think of ... and this some say helped bring on the downfall of the Roman Empire."
"But," one kid persisted, "They were screwing-"
"Don't use that word in this classroom."
"Sorry, teacher, I mean fornicating. They were, well, we all know what they were doing-when they went up to power!"
The teacher thought a moment, and suddenly realized the kid did have a point. Nervously scratching the side of his face, he nodded, "Well it is true, the Romans were carrying on the same way sexually when they rose to power as when they fell from power."
"So the sex argument doesn't hold water, right, teach?"
"Not much," the teacher admitted, "One man named Glasschieb in a book called 'March of Medicine' claims the real reason the Romans fell was because they over-extended their empire too far, and their armies fell sick. Minus the advances in medicine, their armies collapsed with illness, and thus they fell."
"So you could Penicillin could have saved the Roman Empire," one kid suggested.
"This author contends-not just penicillin and not a series of drugs, but the overall medical knowledge we have today for our armies could possibly have saved the Roman armies, and thus held the empire together."
Suddenly the shrill sound of the bell let the teacher know the class period was over. Gratefully, he left the classroom, but Melinda tagged along behind him.
"We can't talk here," he whispered, "I'm watched. They've staked out my apartment, and they check my every move here. You must phone me."
"Is your phone bugged?"
"They can't do that," he assured her.
"Okay, luv. I'll phone you when you get home."
When she walked away, the teacher turned to see if anyone was looking. Sure enough, the Principal was standing at the other end of the hall, a pleased smile forming at the corners of his mouth.
The teacher turned away, went down the steps to the next floor and never looked back till he was out of the building, No one was watching him then, and if they were, Melinda was safely nowhere near.
When he got back to his car, he noticed a good-looking young man standing there. "Hi," the kid smiled. "Hello-"
"Guess I broke you and Melinda up," he chuckled.
"I was helping her with her homework," the teacher snapped defensively.
"Yeah, I know," the kid beamed, "up at your apartment. Oh, you're easy to read. Well, you can lay off now because she won't be going home with you anymore."
"You know I ought to punch you in the nose," the teacher said angrily.
"And prove your guilt," the kid said tightly, "Hymph!"
"What noble motivation makes you so concerned with Melinda's welfare?" the teacher asked hotly.
"Just the same intentions you had, Teach-only I don't lie about it. I want to ball her. And, I don't want to compete with a teacher. You got her grades over her, and all I got, man is my prick."
"Judging from the lengths you're going to to check on Melinda, you must have a lot to offer her."
"Nine solid inches-can she take it?"
"Get out of my way."
"And you stay out of her life," he glared, as the teacher drove off.
When the teacher got home, the phone was ringing. He picked it up quickly.
"Melinda," he breathed into the phone quickly.
"Oh, I miss you," she said quietly. "I miss you so much-"
"I'm sorry, baby,-we've got to cool it."
"You mean I can never see you again?"
"I never said that."
"I just think we ought to lay off it awahile. I'm being watched."
"Zowie!" Melinda shriekd, "You think I'm not. Every move. Okay, if that's the way you want it, goodbye!"