Olivia's Strange Week

Mrs. Adelle

It's Friday, last five minutes of class, and every girl around me is already packing up her things, ready to leave Carlotta Bridge College. They all want to go home and take a rest for once in the whole day. I feel the same way too, of course, but my focus is on other things. Namely, our teacher.

Mrs. Belinda Adelle is a beautiful woman, more beautiful than any other I've ever seen. Her black hair flows like a waterfall down her back, blue jewels hang off her earlobes, giving her the royal image of a queen. Her thin lips glisten with pink every time she speaks, and her voice is a soothing melody, doing to my ears what a deep massage does to my body.

At last, the bell rings, breaking the spell. The students step down from their seats in the auditorium, gathering around the exit like a swarm of bees, their chatter and laughs distorting into a buzz.

I decide to wait until the crowd clears. No use in joining the little swarm blocking the door. It'd be standing for no reason, and with how tired I am the last thing I want is to waste energy so stupidly.

Also, it gives me the opportunity to take another look at Mrs. Adelle. I take a deep breath, trying to calm the intense beating in my chest. She's always so elegant, so imperious. She sits comfortably in the chair, as the hours and hours of work don't affect her in the slightest.

Even now, when class is supposed to be over, when her job is supposed to be done, I can see her taking papers from a pile on her desk, reading them carefully, and then scribbling something on each one before placing them into a smaller pile.

How does she do it? I wonder. Where does she get that kind of energy? I heard that someone else had asked the same thing once, and her answer? "Passion for the job, passion for the students." Knowing Mrs. Adelle could be so passionate gave way to very pleasant thoughts. I lick my lips, savoring my imagination, then take another deep breath.

For the first time since the bell rang, my teacher raises her head, those beautiful brown eyes falling on the only person still sitting. Me. I feel heat rising to my cheeks, and my face only grows hotter when Mrs. Adelle's lips curve into a bright, beautiful smile.

Oh god, oh god, oh god. I want the earth to swallow me whole so I'll be gone and never feel this shame again. She knows, she definitely knows. It's like every time my mind wanders into images of her, every time I have the gall to fantasize just a little bit, she appears, looming over me like a giantess who caught a tiny little girl trying to steal her treasure.

How many times has she caught me staring in the last month- no, in the last week? I am too embarrassed to keep count.

Finally, the exit is clear. Perfect timing for me to leave the auditorium and act like none of this ever happened. I squiggle out of my desk, my belly has received too many stress desserts over the last two years. Something tells me today it'll need some too. I am quick to drag my sore butt to the exit, it is only a few meters away. Freedom is just a few meters away. I just have to reach the door, but my legs wouldn't move any quicker.

Maybe I should stop with the stress desserts.

"Olivia."

I freeze. That calm voice, smooth as silk, it can't be ignored. I turn around and see Mrs. Adelle, beckoning me with her finger. I obediently approach, my face turned slightly downwards to hide my shame.

I reach her desk, swallowing a mouthful of saliva. The soft lavender of her perfume blesses my nostrils, and I'm deeply aware of her presence just next to me.

"I've got some good news for you, sweetheart."

Her calling me that melts me, like chocolate left in her mouth too long. She calls every girl like that, I remind myself. Stop fantasizing for a second and pay attention. "What is it?" I ask, nervous.