“I have to. When I found out you were attacked something inside me … I just realized that I can’t live without you.”
“Well, you better learn,” she said, finding some hidden inner strength and stepping away from him. “I’m not doing this. I mean you’re
either a drug dealer and
a criminal or you’re a teenager and my student.
Or, how about this, all of the above.
Either way, I lose. We can
never
be together. Get used to it and accept it.”
Strengthened by the conviction in her own voice, she turned away from him and headed toward the door.
“Delia, I love you,” he said, grabbing her arm.
“That’s
it,
I’m giving you a Saturday school.” Delia shook off the hold he had on her arm and walked back over to her desk to look for the proper form.
“What?”
“I said I’m giving you a Saturday school.”
“For what?
Falling in love with you?”
“Stop saying that or I’ll give you another one.” Chase sighed in frustration and ran his fingers through his shaggy dark hair.
“You’re being ridiculous, Delia,” he said when he noticed she was actually filling out the form. She ignored him and kept writing, leaning over the desk instead of taking the time to sit. “Well, since I already have the Saturday school, I might as well make it worthwhile.” Chase closed the distance between them in one step, swept her up into his arms and planted a demanding kiss on her lips. She struggled at first but after a few seconds, her resolve melted under his power and she gave in. She lost herself in his passionate embrace and the strong thrusts of his tongue until the unthinkable happened. She heard someone clear their throat.
When Chase and Delia pulled apart, they noticed Principal Howard standing in the doorway.
“Ms. Clark, my office, now!” Principal Howard spun on his heels and stormed away.
“I can’t believe this.” Delia placed her head in her hands and began to cry softly. “This is so humiliating. I’m going to be fired and probably arrested. My life is over.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Chase said with eerie confidence, his C.J. arrogance seeping out.
“What do you mean ‘don’t worry about it’? I’ve just been caught kissing my seventeen-year-old student. I think now is the time to worry.”
“I’ll take care of it. Nothing will happen to you.” Chase lifted her chin with his thumb and forefinger, gave her a peck on the lips then left the classroom following the same path as Principal Howard.
After being paralyzed with shock for a few moments, Delia retrieved her purse and coat and prepared to leave. She knew she would probably be escorted off campus immediately. What if Principal Howard had already called the police?
As she approached the principal’s office, Chase was just walking out.
Or, rather, C.J. the obnoxiously cool student.
He put on a pair of shades, ran his fingers through his hair and walked right past Delia as if they hadn’t just shared an extremely romantic moment. Delia turned and watched him fall in step with one of the football players. He didn’t even turn around and make eye contact with her.
She couldn’t let herself be overly concerned with Chase’s apparent personality disorder right now. She had to figure out a way to save her reputation and possibly her freedom.
Delia entered his office just as the principal took a seat in his lush red velvet chair. Her eyes darted around, noticing how close the book laden walls looked. She felt they were getting closer. “Principal Howard, let me explain. There is a perfectly logical explanation. You see, when I first met C.J. I
— ”
Principal Howard held up his hand as an indication for her to stop. “Look, I don’t really want to hear it. Just be more careful in the future. If
I
caught you, someone else who is a little less understanding than I am could have.” He shook his head in what looked like annoyance as he turned and started typing into his computer.
Delia almost fainted. She grabbed the edge the sturdy oak chair stationed in front of his desk for support. Was he saying that he was okay with her making out with a student? This couldn’t be happening. Legally, shouldn’t he be calling the police or C.J.’s parents or something? What was going on?
Still leaning on the chair, Delia stared at the side of Principal Howard’s head. His calm demeanor made her even more uneasy. She felt her breathing falter. She looked out of the window behind his desk and noticed a few of the students playing a game of pick-up basketball, still in their blazers and ties. When a shot didn’t go in, one student took out his wallet and handed another a wad of cash. Maybe C.J. paid off Principal Howard. Was this how private schools operated? Delia felt she had entered the Twilight Zone.
Turning his attention away from the computer screen momentarily, the Principal said, “Ms. Clark, this is a very sensitive issue. I’ve spoken with C.J. and he has assured me of his … discretion regarding the situation. I hope I can expect the same from you.”
After sitting down and regaining control of her breathing, Delia said, “I don’t understand. Shouldn’t I be in trouble or something?” She couldn’t believe the words coming out of his mouth. She heard his voice and saw his lips move, but the words didn’t make any sense. She focused on his face more closely, but that only caused her eyes to wander to his bushy mustache that suddenly seemed
fake
.
“I know the likes of students like C.J. I know how … persuasive he can be. I’m willing to write this off as one moment of weakness and forget the whole situation as long as I neither
hear
nor see anything else about it and you don’t bring reproach upon this school.” He turned back to his computer and continued typing as if she was no longer there.
His words didn’t ease her confusion or anxiety. She left his office even more afraid of the future repercussions. Was he giving her a free pass to make-out with students as long as no one found out?
And if so, how many other ‘passes’ had he given out?
What was going on at this school?
Delia went back to her classroom and started grading the test papers as a way to get her mind off the absurdity of the situation. When the next class began, she handed out their tests then continued to grade the tests from first period. When she finished, she noticed something very strange. C.J., Angie, Ian and Lena had near perfect papers. Everyone else scored in the C- to B+ range with a couple of failures which was completely normal for this class. She reasoned that it was normal for C.J. to have a near perfect paper since he always seemed to somehow achieve straight A’s in her class, but she couldn’t explain the other three grades. They had never scored so high on one of her tests before.
She put her pen down and leaned back in her chair staring at the four test papers lined up on her desk. She had a feeling there was foul play involved, but she didn’t know how. The papers weren’t identical, so if they cheated, it wasn’t off of each other. But it was almost as if they intentionally missed certain questions.
Angie missed number 7 but got number 9 right, which was almost the same problem. Ian answered number 3 perfectly, but completely bombed number 5. She hated to think that Lena, possibly her favorite student, the one whom she had connected with the most, was somehow involved in cheating. But in the few review sessions they’d had, Delia knew that Lena was not yet capable of the caliber of work she saw on this test.
She didn’t know what to do. She wasn’t exactly in the position to be the moral crusader and accuse someone of cheating. After the day she’d had, she’d feel like a hypocrite accusing someone of such a deplorable act after all the deplorable acts she had committed. But did that mean she would have to turn a blind eye to every act of dishonesty and corruption for the rest of her life?
Principal Howard’s passive response to her encounter with Chase and the unusually high test marks plagued her mind as she drove home that afternoon. She wondered if the two situations were connected.
If so, how?
Different scenarios played in her head. Maybe the students were blackmailing the principal. But what would that have to do with the grades in her class? He certainly had nothing to do with the making of or the grading of the test.
Delia wondered what would happen if she wrote a new test tonight and gave it to them tomorrow. Would the same four students make the same grade? She took out her laptop computer and began rewriting the test. She made it about the same concepts, but focused on different aspects. In the morning, she would just claim she lost their tests and needed to administer a new one.
***
That night, at 10:30, Delia once again awoke to someone pounding on her door. She groaned. It better not be Donna Lee expecting her to go clubbing on a Tuesday night. When she opened the door, she wished it was Donna Lee. Instead, it was Jason.
After her brain registered that her philandering soon-to-be-ex-husband stood in front of her, she swung the door shut, but he caught it and let himself in. She was too tired to throw him out. She knew he would never physically harm her and she had to admit she was a bit curious as to why he was there.
“What do you want?” she asked, crawling back to the bed.
Upon entering her small apartment, he gave it the once over. Though neat and well-organized, it was obvious the studio apartment didn’t meet his standards. Jason James was used to luxury. So the question remained, why was he there?
“Where’s Gina? Do you want her to move in here too?” Delia asked with uncharacteristic bitterness. Maybe she had finally had enough and was ready to stand up for herself.
“About that,” Jason began as he rubbed the back of his neck. “I need to apologize for that. It was wrong and completely inexcusable.”
Was that an apology? Did Jason James really just apologize? Delia rolled over and looked at him carefully for the first time. He had let his hair grow out a little and had dyed it blond. It really didn’t matter what Jason did to his hair, he always looked gorgeous and always looked quite a bit like Johnny
Depp
.
“I don’t want a divorce. I want you back. I want you to move back in.”
Delia nearly rolled off the bed. She swung her feet over the side and sat up, suddenly awake. “Why?”
Jason knelt beside the bed and took her hands in his. “I love you, Delia. I always have. I know I’ve been less than worthy of you, but I’m willing to work at it. I’m willing to change.” He kissed her fingers lovingly then rested his head in her lap. Despite herself, Delia ran her fingers through his hair. It was just as thick and luscious as it always had been.
Maybe she had misjudged him. Maybe he’d loved her all along. Why else would he come to her like this? He could have any woman he wanted.
Her pulse quickened as she felt his hands inch up her modest nightgown until they reached her panties. He kissed her thighs as he slowly inched the underwear down. Delia went dizzy with emotion. She remembered all too well what an excellent lover Jason was. But this wasn’t right. It was too quick, too sudden. Something was wrong.
“Jason, wait. I can’t do this.” She pushed him away and worked her panties back to their appropriate position.
“Why not?
I’m your husband.” Momentarily shocked, Jason stood and stared at his wife. He saw the familiar insecurity in her eyes then went in for attempt number two. He placed his fingers in her hair then gently caressed her neck with his lips. “We belong together, Delia,” he whispered.