Teach Me

Chapter 7

All too soon I hear the ever annoying, ever present bell ringing to indicate the start of the first lesson. My legs propel me to the door as the students flow through the corridor; I look up and see Tristan also waiting outside of his classroom but he is chatting animatedly with another female teacher and for some unknown reason a small frisson of jealousy runs through my body as she flirtatiously touches him on the forearm. I glare until Tristan glances at me, shit I've been caught staring but I see the ghost of a smile on his lips before he turns his attention back to the other teacher.Once all of my year 8 students are lined up I welcome them into the classroom and I can tell I'm going to have my hands full with this class since they are all shouting and screaming. A group of girls are huddled around one of the tables blissfully chatting away. Two boys are happily kicking a football around dodging tables and chairs as they go and multiple students are playing on their phones. 'Come on then everyone sit down' I say but only one person looks up although she takes little notice and instead goes back to filing her obviously fake nails. Ok plan b. I grab a metre long ruler and gently swat my palm a few times but still the students take no notice so I smack it hard against the desk almost breaking it in the process, the sound of the impact ricochets around the room. Every head whips around to face me and the noise ceases immediately. It's so quiet you could hear a pin drop.'Well now that I have got your attention why don't you all put your phones away and take a seat' I place the ruler back in the rack on the wall as the students scramble to sit down. 'Now, let me just make this very clear. In this room I don't care how much you talk when I set you off on a task unless I instruct otherwise but when I am trying to start the lesson or when I am trying to speak to the class you will remain silent. Understand?' from around the room I hear quiet 'yes Miss Rivera's' and 'yes misses' 'good, so let's begin shall we' I press play on the presentation and the students watch in silence. None of them dare murmur a word or even move a muscle.'Ok, so now you know a little bit about me and what will be happening throughout the year but I'd like to get to know a little bit about each of you. So in front of you there are pieces of card, I'd like you to design a name plaque for yourself then afterwards there are sketchpads for each of you and I would like you to decorate the front cover... but please do make an effort as I will be choosing a winner and they'll get a £10 voucher of their choice' I smile and I see the class visibly relax. 'You may start' I mention and the noise level in the room quickly creeps up as the students engross themselves in their work. Although, I do have to remind them a few times not to have their phones out.'Miss Riviera' I hear a small voice call, when I look around I see a small boy with his hand up 'you ok?' I ask making my way to his side 'I don't have a sketchpad' he whimpers apologetically. 'It's ok I'll grab one for you, why don't you work on your name plaque in the meantime' I smile to which he smiles back before grabbing some card from the middle of the table.I head towards the stockroom in search of another sketchpad but they aren't where I left them on top of the drawers, I look around then spot them on a high shelf. Oh for Christ sake. Gripping the ladder tightly I ascend the steps until I can reach 'you know it's probably not the smartest idea to climb a ladder wearing such a short skirt... but nice stockings though' I hear a voice purr from the bottom of the ladders. 'Mr Logan I swear that you're stalking me, and it isn't very gentlemanly to stare up a woman's skirt let alone point out what she's wearing underneath' I mutter as I make my way back down the ladder carrying the sketchpads in my hand. 'I do apologise Miss Riviera, although I never once claimed to be a gentleman' once again I see that wicked glint in his eye which makes me smirk at him, 'what can I do for you? Surely you don't need more sugar paper?' 'Actually no I just came in for some paint and when I saw you up the ladder I just had to make a smart arse remark' he smirks.All I can do is stare at him in confusion 'so why did you come in my stockroom then, surely you have paint in your own' 'my dear Isabelle surely you have realised by now that the stockroom is shared between our two classrooms' smug bastard 'no Mr Logan I didn't realise since I usually spend my lesson teaching my students rather than perving on the female teachers' I snap. He is taken back by my outburst but quickly recovers 'I'd best let you get back to teaching then Miss Riviera' he stands to the side so that I can walk past him and back into my own classroom.After handing a sketchpad to the young boy I place the others beside my desk in case I need any more throughout the day since I don't want to keep bumping into Tristan and talking to him for ages. I took my degree to become an art teacher not to talk all day to other teachers.'Isabelle?' I hear a raven haired girl call out, with easy grace I make my way over to her 'you ok Molly?' 'I don't know what to draw' she explains in obvious frustration. 'Ok, let's see if I can help... what kind of things do you like?' I ask taking a seat beside her, 'um, fashion, shoes, jewellery' she shrugs. 'So girly things? Well why don't you do a collage of everything you like?' I suggest to which she looks at me excited but her smile quickly fades 'I don't know how to draw everything and make it look good.' 'Right, give me a sec' I stand up 'can I have everyone's attention please... thanks... is anyone else struggling designing the front of their sketchpads?' A few students raise their hands 'would those people like to gather around this table' the student's crowd around the table as I grab my own sketchpad from my desk.'Ok, so this is my personal sketchpad that I designed in university. When I was given the task, I had no idea what to do on it, I had so many different things that I wanted to draw but I couldn't narrow it down to just one idea and still make it look interesting so instead I did this' I place the sketchpad in the middle of the table and I'm met with gasps 'oohs' and 'wows.' Covering the entire book cover are intricate sketches of a number of different things from animals to objects such as shoes and nail polish etc then central to the image is a unicorn flying over a sketch of my name in cursive. Everything is coloured using markers, the bright colours and inked outlines really make everything pop and stand out.I show the sketchpad around to the students 'however, this wasn't the art piece that won the competition, it was this' I flip the page and the students stare at me dumbstruck. 'When I drew the first image I drew what I thought the teachers wanted to see not what I wanted to draw' the only thing on the paper is a close up of a red rose coloured using watercolour with my name written in the bottom right hand corner in gold. 'The point of this exercise isn't just to see who can draw the best or for you to draw what you think it is that I want to see, it's so that I can see what you like and get a sense of your personality and who you are as individuals.' Every student in the room is staring now, 'I'll let you all have a look at my sketchpad then I'd like for you to get back to sketching' I smile and the students enthusiastically flip through my sketchpad.When break time rolls around I grab my sketchpad and head to the printer just outside the classroom in the corridor 'Miss Riviera?' Molly, the raven haired girl, hurries over to me 'I just wanna say I think your drawings are awesome and thank you for showing them and inspiring me. Any other teacher would have been like, just draw a dog or something, but not you, you're an amazing teacher' 'thank you, I'm glad you think that. If you ever need any more help, whether it be with art or anything else just come and find me and I'll do what I can' I smile, she grins back then hurries away to her friends. I grin like an idiot at the printer as I scan my sketchpad, I'm glad that my efforts are already being noticed and appreciated.I continue to scan the sketchpad until someone calls 'Isabelle' once again; I swear I will eventually finish scanning this damn thing. Tristan makes his way over to me 'hey. I thought I'd come and see how you are' he explains to which I look at him confused 'I'm fine, why wouldn't I be' 'ok I didn't come to see how you are, actually I heard you talking to your students earlier and showing them your sketchpad and I thought it was really kind of you to do it' he smiles as I continue to scan the sketchpad through the printer.'Thank you, well I was just doing my job we're supposed to help and inspire our students aren't we' I mention pulling the photocopier lid down 'I suppose so, but any other teacher would just do as little as possible and let the kids get on with it' Tristan shrugs walking around to stand in front of me beside the printer. 'That's not how I am' I explain grabbing my sketchpad and paper and making my way back into the classroom where I realise that Tristan has followed me. 'Can I help you?' I ask although even to my ears it sounds harsh 'what's wrong' he asks simply, his voice laced with concern.'What do you mean what's wrong, nothing's wrong' I insist busying myself with organising the photocopied stack of paper, he gently tugs my arm until I'm standing before him looking into his eyes as he grips my shoulders. He doesn't hurt me but he applies enough pressure to ensure that I can't move my shoulders, 'yesterday and this morning you were laughing and joking with me but ever since we were in the stockroom you seemed to have turned against me.' All I can do is stare up into his dazzling hazel eyes 'I don't know, I guess I'm just tired I didn't really get a lot of sleep last night and I didn't realise how exhausted I would be after work' my voice is barely audible.His left hand leaves my shoulder and moves up to rest on my cheek as his thumb gently strokes my skin, his right hand slips down to rest on my waist. I stand immobile before him willing him to release me but at the same time wanting him to never let me go. He glances down at my lips before slowly leaning his head closer to mine. There is a knock on the door which then flies open as Tristan pulls away in a split second 'sorry Miss Riviera, I forgot my coat' a young boy mutters. I nod my head and he rushes across the room to grab his coat before darting out of the room.Almost immediately afterwards the bell rings signalling the end of break and the beginning of the next lesson 'we'd best get back to work, your students will be arriving soon' I say quietly 'I don't have a lesson, I'm on a free' Tristan mentions 'same here' I breath staring at him 'but I can't just stand here talking for the next hour I have things to do.' 'Ok, maybe I'll see you at dinner?' Tristan suggests to which I nod my head even though secretly I don't want him to go. 'Or I could give you a hand?' he offers, I want to refuse but I find myself nodding my head at him. 'What would you like a hand with?' 'Well I was going to tidy the stockroom' I explain 'lead on Miss Riviera' Tristan motions towards the stockroom door, we both make our way inside.The door slams shut and I suddenly feel Tristan grab my arm and haul me towards him until I'm flush against his taut body. One arm snakes around my waist while the other slips into my hair holding me in place as his lips urgently capture my own; my shocked gasp allows his tongue entry into my mouth. Within a beat my hands find their way into his hair as I kiss him back equally as forceful, my other arm drapes around his neck while I tug his hair. He lets out a throaty moan and I feel his erection digging into my stomach as he holds me close.All too soon he pulls away and runs a hand through his now dishevelled hair, he looks calm and collected as though nothing happened whereas I am still leaning against the cupboard breathing heavily and practically shaking. 'Shall we get this stockroom tidied?' he asks smirking at me, I can't help but look at him utterly dumbfounded. He just pounced on me and now we're discussing tidying the stockroom. What the actual fuck. 'Um, yeah ok' is all I can say.Tristan turns away from me and begins organising the coloured paper, I steal a glance at the mirror on the back of the door and thankfully my hair isn't a mess and I don't have lip gloss all over my face. Bonus. While Tristan sorts through the paper I decide to organise the shelves, the two of us work in almost total silence, both of us lost in our own thoughts until eventually I hear the bell ring. Glancing at my watch I realise we've spent the entire hour in here; wow time does fly when you're busy.Both of us leave the stockroom and enter our own classrooms, I double check my appearance in my small compact mirror then I go to the door to welcome my students into the room ready to start another lesson.