Falling From Grace: Student-Teacher Forbidden Romance

Chapter 12

[RECAP: Leonie has won the lead role in the school play, which will be directed by sexy priest and English teacher Father Gabriel...]

Leonie was finding it hard to concentrate. She was supposed to be writing her weekly letter home, something all the students were required to do.

"I'm sure they open them and read them," Mai said. "So don't bother telling them about the starvation and the beatings and the daily torture sessions."

"Mai!" Figgy protested. "It's really not that bad."

"If you don't call Hess' law and Born-Haber cycles a form of severe torture, then I don't know what is," Mai said. She had been wrestling with her chemistry homework for the past hour. Leonie and Figgy had enjoyed a much easier time of it writing about Caravaggio's use of light for a History of Art assignment. They shared notes, and the hardest thing was making their two essays different enough.

Leonie had earlier blitzed through her Maths with thanks to Harry, who seemed to have the mind of a genius when it came to trigonometry.

Now Leonie was writing her letter but all she could think of were a pair of piercing blue eyes and that sudden smile.

"Dear Mom and Dad,

"I've settled in here and have some great roommates. Classes are going okay. I got a role in the school play. Hoping you're all well and missing you, Leonie."

That was all she could manage. What else was there to say?

Mai was peering over her shoulder. "'The greatest roommates ever' I think you mean. And what's with 'a role in the school play'? You got the starring role. You should be shouting about it. Won't they be proud?"

Leonie figured it was time to confide in them. "They're not happy about my plans to do theatre. They want me to get a law degree or an MBA or whatever."

"Is that why they've sent you here?" Figgy asked.

"Kind of." It wasn't, but Leonie didn't want to get into all that now. "My mom thinks it's too risky a career. Too uncertain."

Harry put her pen down. "She's right. It is. But that doesn't mean it's not worthwhile trying. Someone has to succeed at it."

Harry didn't speak often so when she did, it kind of meant more.

"I guess. It makes me doubt myself though. And US college isn't like what you have here, it's so much more expensive. If they won't help pay for it I'll have to get into huge debt, and then paying that off on a waitress's salary... you can guess how easy that would be."

Figgy, who had been tidying her drawer, turned to Leonie. "Why don't you study in the UK then? You could go to RADA or somewhere."

Leonie had never considered this. "You'd have to be British though, wouldn't you?"

Figgy shrugged. "I don't see why. Everywhere takes international students."

Mai had an evil smile. "Your only problem might be sharing a room with Suki Laverne. RADA is her dream." She and Figgy left as they had to pick up something from the Biology classroom.

Leonie folded her letter. She felt dejected but she couldn't put her finger on why. She was still getting the intense dreams at night and wasn't sleeping well.

"Are you okay?" Harry asked her, her brown eyes looking concerned. Leonie still found it weird that Harry was a Lady, she always seemed so down to earth.

"I guess. Just things on my mind," Leonie told her.

"When I need to clear my head I go to Confession," Harry said.

Leonie was surprised. "Are you super religious, then?"

Harry laughed. "Not at all. It's just peaceful in there, and someone is listening who can't breathe a word. The Sacramental Seal has its advantages. They can't break it even if you confess to murder. Sometimes I've confessed things I haven't done, just for fun."

Her eyes were twinkling wickedly. Leonie was shocked, she might expect this from Mai, but not Lady Harriet: school lacrosse captain and a prefect as well. "Isn't that going to get you struck by lightning?"

"Not so far. I figure it's entertainment for them. I don't confess to actual murder. I once confessed that I stole Mother Benedict's bra and tied it to a tree. Later that day I saw poor Father Stephen poking around the grounds looking up at all the trees, obviously hoping to find it before it became a scandal."

Despite all the bad things she had done in her life, Leonie couldn't imagine lying in a confessional. But still, going to confession was an idea. She hadn't been since she was really young. It might give her some peace of mind.