Photography Class [closed]

[Sexual_Muse]

'Semper in a immensus, investigatio de cognitio' Always in the endless quest for knowledge. The full motto was something like 'ac sibi cognitiones comparare per docens', acquiring knowledge through teaching. 'Ut excogito per lectio et scriptio', learning by what we read and write. 'Semper in a immensus, investigatio de cognitio', always in the endless quest for knowledge. But that was a mouth full and somewhere between 1838 when the school was established to the last hundred years it had been shorted to just the last phase, though the entirety of the words were still etched deeply into the front face of the school's main building.

Coeus Preparatory Academy, an elite private secondary school with a warred background of the rich, famous and genius. There school colors were navy blue and light sunglow yellow, their mascot a titan with a scroll in hand. It held claim to one hundred and twelve acres about twenty-eight minutes from the heart of the city, where there were more trees then concrete buildings and fresh air filled with the scent of nature instead of fumes of the city. The small town that sprung up around the school consisted of arty stores selling a range of priced arts and crafts. Restaurants that cooked their foods from local farmers and ranchers yet managed to be well priced despite their trendy "green" ways. Boutiques were a collection of new and used clothes and next door antique shops filled every nook and cranny leaving narrow walk ways for you to search through. Where most towns had a Walmart, Titan's Grove had corner stores with ice cream parlors and soda bars.

But as cheap as Titan's Grove was to visit, living there was a luxury with houses averaging in the half million dollar market. People who had lived there before the town became well known were loyal to the founding that had build it and they all worked together to keep Titan's Grove as pure as possible. Meaning prices were low, police were friendly and crime was nearly non-existent, people knew each other's first and last names and once a month on the first Sunday was free movie night at the old drive in with quarter hotdogs and nickle sodas with penny refills. It was the perfect place to live, if you could afford to buy a house as there were never any rentals available.

Despite how perfect it's location from the city and all it's amenities when the Carter family moved it was outside of the city but still closer to Derrick and Mary Carter's jobs in the city then their only child Victoria's school. When Vika had first been told that they were moving she had feared that it would be far away and out of reach of her friends. When she was younger all of her friends had lived in the same five block radius, though she had become friends with them at different times in her life.

Amelia was her oldest friends and had lived in the build right next to Vika's old home. They had been in the same second grade and after daring each other to eat an earth warm they were fast and life long friends. At 5'9" she was the tallest of Vika's friends with long chestnut brown hair that fell in perfect waves and silvery gray eyes that would have almost clashed with her peach toned skin if there wasn't so much warmth in them. People said she looks like a young Geena Davis in her body build and face and until the pair saw the movie A League of Their Own they had no idea what people were talking about. Amelia was also the first of Vika's friends to join cheer leading in her freshman year, becoming the varsity squad captain in her senior year. She was the reason that Vika finally broke down and joined the squad. After Helena and Leya joined in their second year Vika was the only one left and with a year worth of friendly targeting first from Am then from the other two it was really just a matter of time that Vika traded in her kilt and lacrosse stick or a cheer uniform and pom-poms.

Similar to lacrosse the cheer teams had meetings during the summer break and had invited anyone who wanted to join next year to participate in practices with tryout for the varsity team being held the week before school started. With Vika's years worth of gymnastics training she had thought she would be a shoo in a a tumbler like her friends Helena and Leya. In fact there were many a times when the girls would come over to Vika's house for tips for certain moves. But after tryouts she had been made a flyer. Vika had at first been a little disappointed that she wouldn't be a tumbler but felt that the excitement from being thrown up into the air could easily replace the rough and sometimes hard hitting sport that lacrosse had been.

It hadn't been until the ride home, with Amelia and Helena that she truly started to feel excited about making the squad. Even with all the teasing she received from Helena abut being too tall to be a proper flyer. At 5'3" Vika weighted one hundred and twelve pounds with 34C-24-34 measurements, a small frame kept tight and lean by work outs and sports. When Amelia dropped Helena off, Vika had made a point of calling out her window some friendly insults of her own, most about her chest size. A chest size the same as Vika's very own.

Helena was slightly taller then Vika at 5'5" with medium copper hair that twisted into to tight springy little curls and dark hazel eyes. Vika had always envied her easy to tan olive skin and the rich color it bronzed to in the summer. In the third grade after a fight that neither could remember, only that it happened while on a field trip to the zoo, they were forced to be partners and found themselves friends by the day's end. When her parents divorced while Helena was in the fifth grade her mother moved her and her older brother to a town nearly smack dab between the city and Titan's Grove.

Together all three girl's would carpool to school. Even though Helena had a car of her own, a deep magenta metallic Camaro convertible (much to the horror of her brother) and Vika owned a classic by the sea blue Vespa scooter they all chose to ride with Amelia in her sun fusion yellow Prius C. Even more so this year as Am would be given her own parking spot near the front of the lot for being the varsity captain.

Eleven minutes after six in the morning, you could time your watch by the girl, Vika hear Amelia's car. Followed a moment later by the impatient honk of her horn. Vika was known to oversleep with her phone off and no way to wake her and since Amelia hated to be late she often ran her carpools like an army general. Quick to move, in fear of giving her friend another chance to sound her horn, Vika rushed out of the house bag slung over her should only to pause in front of a full length mirror. It was the first day of school and unlike the other years where Vika was lucky to skip the uniform day by wearing her lacrosse warm ups, this year she sported the cheerleading uniform. Vika tugged at the skirt frowning at the missing inches that the skirt lacked over her kilt. The moment in front of the mirror was longer then the handful of seconds that Am allotted Vika to get to her car and leaned in on the horn again. Jolting Vika to leap into motion shouting "Coming!" As she closed and locked the door behind her.

The seven minute ride from Vika's house to Helena's was filled with excited chatter about the classes they would be in this year. They would be assigned their year schedule in homeroom, a homeroom class that Vika was lucky enough to share with Amelia, Helena and Leya. Once Helena jumped in the back seat of Amelia's car the conversation restarted. Amelia wanted to work with child protective services and had filled in a few classes in league with what she wanted to do now that she was a senior. Helena had done the same with her classes hoping to one day be the President of the United States. Vika listened on unsure of what it was that she wanted to do with her life and picking classes at random just to fill the paper handed to them the last day of school last year.

Like every morning for the past three years Leya stood under the tree nearest the parking spot balancing the tray of coffees from Starbucks. One of the few brand name chains in Titan's Grove.

The shortest of the group Leya stood 5'3" with a pixie cut, flaxen blond hair and the most amazing sky blue eyes Vika had ever seen. Bored with the dominantly green hazel eyes she had. Leya was also the newest of the friends, having joined the group in the sixth grade after Vika and her fell for the same boy. What would have been a rivalry in any other situation became a friendship where both realized that the boy they liked wasn't worth fighting over.

"One of these things finally looks like the other ones." Leya sang handing out the coffee cups.

"You know I had always assumed that these would at least be more comfortable then they looked..." But already the other girls were shaking their head.

"I like the glitter parts," Helena started.

"But they itch." Finished Am with what looked like a pained face.

Leya smiled and flipped the inner edge of her neckline out, showing a satiny silk like inside. "It really makes a difference."

"You can't do that!" Amelia's voice rose in pitch as she stared her friend's uniform.

Even though Leya knew the answer she asked the question anyways. "Why not?"

And in laughing unison Helena and Vika chimed in their own impersonation of Amelia. "Because it's school property." And together as a group they sipped on their coffees and walked across the parking lot to school. Vika's eyes catching the Latin words above the door. Always in the endless quest for knowledge.

 

[BurningMonkey]

Dirk "Dutch" Chandler parked his five-year-old minivan in the teacher’s lot amid all the shiny new BMWs and Mercedes and turned off the engine. It was certainly an imposing building, stately and lofty and screaming Old Money. He was a little intimidated, to say the least.

He had been lucky to land this position; it was a good school, with good students and a solid reputation, and the salary was good. Not good enough to be able to live here—Titan’s Grove housing was far beyond the means of a simple photography teacher. Still, the 30-minute drive from his home town to Titan’s Grove wasn’t that bad. He’d suffered through worse commutes.

And the job afforded him the opportunity to see his sister more often. Her husband had done very well for himself in business, and they had chosen to settle in Titan’s Grove. In fact her daughter Vika attended here; she was a senior now, if he recalled correctly. It had been a while since he had seen her, but he remembered her as poised and full of bridled energy, a nice-looking young lady. Maybe he would run into her now and then.

He ran his hands through his short sandy-brown hair and took a deep breath. He was always nervous starting a new position, but he’d been teaching for a while now, so there shouldn’t be any surprises.

He opened the door, grabbed his lunch box—he always brown-bagged it; there was no extra money in the budget for buying lunch—unfolded his six-foot frame from the driver's seat, and headed towards the imposing entrance with the Latin inscription. Someday soon he would look up what all that meant…

On his way in he noticed all the team uniforms and cheerleading outfits, and thought: Oh, yeah; this is uniform day. It was a custom he was unused to; the previous schools where he’d taught didn’t have the tradition. But he thought it nice that students and faculty both took pride in building school spirit. It boded well.

 

[Sexual_Muse]

The group's movements were on autopilot, pausing to say hello to friends they hadn't seen over the summer, chatting with favored teachers and skirting those they didn't like. It was all in an effort to get to the cafeteria for some breakfast. Sure coffee was a great way to start the morning but one needed food to properly function.

"Greece was amazing." Gushed Kelly with a starry eyed look on her face. If Vika didn't know any better, and she did, she would have bet that somewhere in her family vacation to Greece she had found herself a boy. "And the boys there." And there it was, just as Vika had guessed as Kelly all but swooned. "I meet this boy..." Since Vika had already guessed what had happened she tuned out of the conversation. It wasn't out of site that she didn't listen, it was just that every year her family went on a vacation, last year it had been Ireland, and every year she came back with love stories about how she found the one and against all odds they were make their international relationship work. It would be their happily every after and within a month life as she knew it would end because things would end between her and Mr. Perfect.

In the background of Vika's daydreams she heard her friend's voice but not the words themselves. That was until Helena nudged her shoulder. "I, huh?" Amelia was shaking her head in disapproval knowing exactly what had happened.

"We were all agreeing on how love this year could wait." Leya chimed in catching Vika up with what she had missed while in her own mind.

"We," She peered at Kelly nothing no signs of sorrow or heart break on her face. "Yes." Vika nodded her head agreeing with the current mass opinion. "Love is over rated and, um, well..." How could she tactfully point out her disgruntled feeling about boys. "Boys are just too much of a bother." Which they were. They either ran on one of two extremes, they loved you from the moment they saw you and were beyond clingy. The sort that calls every night just to say goodnight and nothing more then that. Mr. Sensitivity who requires more attention then he gives you. Or the other side of the coin, the jerk. He never called, was always doing things with his friends and forgetting about you and the plans the two of you had together. Pushy in needing his space but jealous and possessive when you so much as looked at another guy no matter the reason.

Vika had been the victim of the first of the two extremes. Kurt was the captain of the boy's lacrosse team and despite how well he played, the aggression he showed on the field that was just not who he was. Vika should have known better but it wasn't as if the two teams spent time together in non-lacrosse planned events. So really all she had to go on was the person she had seen on the field. It had been enough to scar Vika away from boys for a long while. Why couldn't they go back to the coodie system that they had once used in grade school, it would have made everything so much easier.

"But I thought that you and Kurt..." Kelly started, the corner of one side of her lips pulled down in what was sure to be a full frown any minute.

As if reading her mind Helena shook her head no. "They broke up in the summer when Kurt professed his undying love."

"Oh how sweet, wait, what?" You could see how Kelly struggled to fit together how a profession of undying love would result in a breakup.

"You see he now has coodies." Leya filled in as if that fixed all the confusion.

Kelly started to shake her head no, her light blond hair cut in a shoulder length bob swaying around her head. "Coodies?"

Fed up with the turn of the conversation Amelia jumped in and cleared it all up in just a handful of words. "Vika has commitment issues."

Vika opened her mouth to argue but she knew deep down that her best friend was right. Anything that Vika started she in time grew bored with it. It had started with gymnastics. When things started to get too easy, when it was no longer a thrill and a challenge anymore she quit. Then with art, that had been a different case. It was difficult from the first moment and never got easier so deciding it wasn't in her destiny to be an artist she quit that too. Even with lacrosse, with as much as she loved it she knew after three years she was getting bored with it. Told herself that she was had quit only because Amelia, Helena and Leya had bugged about joining in her third year. But the truth of the matter was had she not joined the cheer squad chances were that she would have quit anyways.

"Oh, I'm so sorry." Kelly patted Vika's arm, her eyes soft with just a touch of pity.

"Yup." What else could she say. It wasn't like she could snap at Kelly on the first day of school. Plus she was only trying to be nice. "Well I hungry." And with that being reason enough to leave Vika turned on her heel, the rubber sole of her cheer shoes squeaking on the tile.

"Okay. See you at practice." Kelly waved as her friends turned and followed Vika.

That was right, Kelly was on the team. Of course how could Vika miss it, she like everyone else on the team was wearing their uniform. In fact anyone on any team wore their uniforms and those who wasn't on a team wore their school uniforms with pride.

Jenna another member of the cheer team walked by, waving but not stopping from where she was heading to. Catty narrowed eyes followed her team mate. She was wearing her warm-up sweats. Did Amelia saw that Vika had to wear her uniform. In face as she recalled the memory she clearly remembered her other two friends agreeing with the statement that sweats couldn't be worn.

Amelia, Helena and Leya were chatting about something, there voices stopping all at once. It was the silence and having run into Amelia's back that got Vika's attention. "I thought you all said..." Vika started, her words dying at her friend's deer in the head lights stance.

"Who, who is that?" Was that a sigh from Amelia?

"A god." Leya answered. "He has to be."

Vika looked around not quite sure of who they were talking about.

Helena was the first one to move and she pointed as the man who was walking away from them. He was tall, his hair a short sandy blond. From this vantage point, which only showed the man's back, he didn't look like such. Okay maybe his shoulders were wide and muscular, and his height was always a plus but that was all Vika had to go on. Oh, one of the students walking behind him moved off to the side and Vika had a better look. The way his back narrowed to a set of hips, the fit of his pants on that one part of his body. Okay, so the more she saw the better he started to look but he still wasn't anything worth that deer look all her best friends had given him.

"I take back all that about love." Helena stated going up on the tip of her toes to get a better look.

Vika shook her head. Her friends were lost to her and it was so sad that it was all over a boy. "Lust." She corrected. "Not love."

"Call it what you want I'm-"

Vika interrupted her friends and earned her three sets of sharp looks. "Going to go eat breakfast. Eye candy can wait till later." In that at least everyone seemed to agree and the looks softened and things returned to normal. Or as normal as it could get when there was a hunky unknown on campus.

Helena gave one last look over her should before joining in step with her group of friends. "I wonder who he is?"

"A substitute?" Leya shrugged.

Am was shaking her head no. "Not on the first day."

There was excitement in Helena's voice when next she spoke. "Then he's a teacher."

Leya was nodded, agreeing with what Helena had said. "But for who? The teacher roster came out four days ago and there wasn't a new name anywhere on the list."

"Last minute replacement?" It was the logical solution and of course came from Amelia.

"He looks like trouble." Vika stated simply, her friends looking like they were ready to defend the stranger's honor.

"You should know."

"Yeah."

"Takes one to know one."

They all spoke at once and their words fought each other to be heard.

Vika's lips turned up in a full smile. "Exactly." It did take one to know one and she knew enough to be able to spot it at a distance by now. It didn't even matter that she hadn't even seen that man's face.

 

[BurningMonkey]

“Well, hello, Mr. Chandler,” Mr. Gaffin said warmly as Dutch walked into the main office—once he’d found it; this place was a maze!—to check his inbox. He didn’t expect anything to actually be there, but he had established the habit years ago during his student teaching days and it had never left him.

“Thank you, sir,” Dutch said as he shook the principal’s hand warmly. “I’m happy to be here.”

“So glad you could fill in at the last minute when Mr. Burly took ill,” the older man said as he put a friendly hand on Dutch’s broad shoulder. “We were in desperate need, and you answered that need.”

Dutch was under no illusions; he had been the last-minute, Get-Whoever-You-Can choice. He didn’t resent that fact; it provided him with the opportunity to show his worth, which was all he asked.

“Um, a word, if you please,” the principal said as he guided Dutch into his office, closing the door. Now what? Dutch wondered.

“I don’t think I’m being obsequious" (curious word, Dutch thought) "when I say that you are a fine-looking man,” the principal began diplomatically. “You are, without hyperbole, one of the better set up male teachers in the school at the moment.”

“I say this not to flatter, but to state facts. Many of the young ladies here are…romantic, and…impressionable…” He was fumbling, obviously uncomfortable with what he meant to say. Dutch spared him.

“And they’ll crush on me, and act the fool. I understand. I’m not unaware of the effect I have on young women; I’ve encountered it before.” Mr. Gaffin looked visibly relieved that he needn’t spell it out.

“Rest assured, sir, that I will not encourage such…attachments. They do nobody any good. They are unprofessional, and can be downright dangerous. I’m fully aware of the situation, and will be on my guard not to cause you or the school any embarrassment.”

And Dutch was fully aware. In both of the last two schools in which he’d taught, certain female students had fixated on him to the point of it being ridiculous, had it not been so fraught with dire consequences all around. He had handled each situation with tact, candor, and firmness, and all was well from then on. He expected this time to be no different.

At forty-two he looked much younger, perhaps mid- to late-thirties. His body had always been good, and many thought him to be a former athlete—which in fact he was, but not in any of the sports they imagined. Some thought football, others one of the heavy track and field events like hammer-throw or shot-put, but his sport had actually been fencing. He had loved the analysis, the judging of his opponent, the subtle moves intended to get his opponent to move just there, the sudden explosive commitment to an all-or-nothing move that would either win spectacularly or fail miserably—he had loved it all, and had been named captain of the fencing team his senior year in college.

But though he had been good at his sport and his other studies, his first love had always been photography. Ever since he’d seen a photo of an orchid in a National Geographic when he was eight or nine, he had known what he wanted to do.

When other boys were reading Playboy or Sports Illustrated, he had been poring over issues of Shutter magazine. While others read Penthouse Letters or interviews with famous jocks, he had been reading commentaries by famous photographers. The ability to take an ordinary object or creature like a rock in a puddle or a starling in flight, and then through the magic of lens, aperture, f-stop, shutter speed, framing, composition, angle, and—most important!—light, turn that ordinary object into something transcendent, mystical…it was still sorcery in his mind, and he loved it like he loved nothing else in life.

It was this passion, this enthusiasm that he brought to the classroom, and it was infectious. And when someone Got It, it was as though he'd won a Nobel. He had shown another soul the secret world of film, and the wonder on their face was enough to keep him going. Had he not had obligations, he would gladly have done it free of charge.

He went back out after his brief conversation with Mr. Gaffin and checked his mailbox. There was a folded sheet of paper there, a simple notice of which homeroom he was assigned. With note in hand, he set off into the wilderness to find the room he would anchor every morning for the duration of the semester.

 

[Sexual_Muse]

The routine was more or less the same for the girls. They had breakfast in the cafe, sitting either at the long center table or against the mapped wall. Lunch was picked up at the cafeteria in the building across the lawn and eaten over at the amphitheater when the weather was nice or at the commons if the weather wasn't. And like the three previous years they walked into concept cafe and claimed four seats at the center table.

As the last one set her bag in a seat meant that it was Vika's turn to get everyone's orders.

"Strawberry bagel with jalapeno cream cheese jelly." Ordered Helena.

Vika made a face knowing her friend's odd palate. "What no chocolate sprinkles?"

"Not today." The cute curly haired Helena smirked.

It wasn't that odd of a question, she had ordered it with sprinkles before.

Leya like Vika was one of those lucky folks that could eat anything they wanted and not have to worry about it. "Monster croissant sandwich, fried egg, Swiss cheese and as much bacon as they can load it down with."

"Acai bowl with coconut shavings and no honey." It was Amelia's go to breakfast but varied day to day.

"Bananas?" Am nodded in answer to Vika's question. "Granola?" Another nod. "Strawberries and blueberries?" Shake of the head no.

"Just blueberries."

There was no need to ask if they wanted something to drink, they all still had their coffees and would nurse them until the end of homeroom.

With the orders placed Vika returned to the table and joined her friends in their current conversation about colleges and what their plans for a career were. It was a subject Vika was uncomfortable with. She didn't know what she wanted to do after college and when she heard her name called out she was happy to leave the table. Along with everyone else' orders she had gotten herself a sandwich much like Leya's but with scrambled eggs instead of a fried one.

As luck would have it when Vika returned to the table other friends had filled what empty seats were open and the conversation that turned to less serious topics. Cody had apparently got his parents to buy him a truck after totally his jag. It spawned a different emotion all together and it soured the delicious breakfast sandwich. "So you totaled the small sports car so of course the next best thing, instead of taking a defensive driving course was to get a rather large dodge truck?" Her voice was all jokes and as sweet as sugar but the look on her face, between her large bites of food, was conflicting of her vocal tone.

"Well," Cody nodded as if it all made sense. "Yeah."

Leya kicked Vika under the table and she shrugged her innocence. It scored her another kick. Leya had gone out with Cody her freshman year and while she no longer like him she felt protective towards him.

"Gosh you're so lucky." Vika sighed swallowing the pain filled grunt from the third and hardest kick from Leya.

Lost to the fact the Vika was teasing him he smile and leaded across the table to be closer to her. It meant she could hear him as he whispered how if she went out with him she could see the inside of his truck firsthand. It was a joke mostly but Cody had the look of one that hoped that maybe she would take up his offer.

The rest of breakfast was uneventful and by the time that the homeroom bell rang Vika's coffee was empty and she dumped the cup in the trashcan with the rest of her breakfast scraps.

"Mrs. Hess!" An older lady in her early fifties Mrs Hess was Vika's favorite teacher. She taught English and Vika had been privileged to be in her freshman class and doubly so to have her as her homeroom teacher. Unlike other teachers once you were assigned a homeroom teacher they were your homeroom teacher until you graduated. "How was your summer? Did you get that book I sent you?" They had a close teacher student relationship and often traded books.

"I did." Mrs Hess smiled. "Where did you find a first edition?"

Vika beamed at the question knowing it was a rare find. Morton's books had been heavily censored in his second printing and all those printed before the censoring had been destroyed. "An estate sell. No one knew what they had. Picked it up for three dollars."

"Three dollars?!" The teacher's face paled. They both knew the value of the book.

"Yeah. I want you to have it."

Mrs Hess shook her head vigorously. "I- I can't." She stuttered. "The price..."

"Three dollars. Pay me back if you like." Snickered Vika knowing how much her favorite teacher loved the author.

"So whats the riddle for today?" Amelia asked knowing that everyday in homeroom Mrs Hess gave the class a riddle and the first one to answer it got a prize. It wasn't anything big, a hand painted book mark or a book jacket poster.

"Oh well today's..." Mrs Hess' face fell as she looked form girl to girl. "Oh girls."

"What?" Helena pressed her voice thick with worry.

Vika felt the same way but waited knowing that Mrs Hess would answer when she wanted. She wasn't one to leave anyone hanging.

"I'm so sorry."

Amelia, Helena, Leya and Vika all traded confused looks. "What?" They asked in unison.

"I'm not going to be your homeroom teacher this year. Mrs Watson asked me to take her class."

Mrs Watson was a science teacher in her early thirties and it was common knowledge that she and her husband had been trying to have a child and had failed for year. Two months ago a school notice had gone out congratulating Mrs Watson for her pregnancy.

As sweet as it was of Mrs Hess to take that stress off of Mrs Watson's pregnancy Vika couldn't lie to herself and say that she was happy about it and the look on the rest of the girls faces seemed to be inline with her own.

"So did we get thrown to?" Leya cried, her bottom lip sticking out.

"I believe you've all been resigned to Mr Burly."

"Mr Burly?" Instantly the image of the old German photography teach came to mind. Worst then that was the odor that followed him. Something like stale cigar smoke and paint thinner.

"Old fat sweaty Mr Burly?" Helena whined.

"Miss Jefferson!" As honest as Helena's description of Mr Burly was it was still uncalled for and Mrs Hess looked shocked that she would say something that unkind.

"He is!" Helena defended as the second bell rang.

Amelia sighed and threw up her arms. "Great now we're all going to be late!' She moaned turning to hurry down the hall. Photography was on the second floor and on the opposite side of the building.

Leya waved her farewell as she rushed to catch up with the all but jogging Amelia. "Bye Mrs Hess."

Helena didn't saw anything before she turned to leave but she did part with a smile and wave.

Vika was the only one who lingered. Mr Boer gave her the creeps and it was known that he hadn't had a homeroom calls for years. "I hope you enjoy your new class." Vika tried to sound genuine but the loss of her teacher friend tugged at her heart. She felt like she was loosing someone and knew that she would harbor some feelings towards her new class.

"I'll return-" Mrs Hess started but Vika cut her off.

"It's a gift and you know well enough that I would just keep sending it back to you." It had already been proven that the teenage was far more stubborn than the older woman.

"Tha-"

Again Vika cut her off. "I'll see you later teach." And with a final smile and wave Vika ran off to catch up with her friends unaware of the trouble she and her friends were walking into by entering the photography class.

 

[BurningMonkey]

Dutch walked down the hall, half intimidated.

He'd seen the entryway and the admin offices briefly when he interviewed, but this was the first time he'd actually seen the inside of Coeus Academy in all it's splendor, spread out in all directions. It was a bit overwhelming.

The vaulted ceilings, the artwork on the walls, the polished woodwork, the pillars--it was a far cry from the utilitarian high schools he'd taught in since graduation.

And everywhere he looked, he saw Money on Two Legs: designer handbags and backpacks, expensive shoes, name-logo casual wear, fancy electronics, the latest in cellphones and digital screen devices... He felt a little drab, dingy, and out of place in his slightly-faded khaki Dockers and plain white no-name polo.

He had grown up in modest circumstances, where a new color TV had to be saved for and a 5-year old car was considered "new". He didn't know how his sister Mary had managed to attract the attention of the up-and-coming attorney, but she did, and they wed, and this now was the world in which she lived her every day life.

Dutch had taken a different path, choosing to chase his dream. Along the way he had met Elaine, fallen in love, married, and started a family. She worked in an insurance office, and together with his teacher's salary and his second part-time job at a photography studio at night they were comfortable, but only just. Any little hitch in the steady course of their finances meant scrambling. They'd always managed to weather whatever came along, but there were nights when he wondered how long they could keep this up.

Thank God for the studio work. Mostly he did portraits and formal sittings, but lately he'd been branching out into "glamour" photography, and business was better. It was astounding to him how many women were willing, even eager, to dress skimpily and pose provocatively for a camera lens, sometimes taking an hour or two to garner a half-dozen frames that they could take home.

Some of those shots would end up online, he knew, in one venue or another. Many more would simply be stashed in a drawer and never be seen again. A lot of his clients, he suspected, simply did it for the experience of having done it. Which was fine by him; they paid the same as everyone else.

And it also surprised him--at least at first--how many offers he got for "private" sittings. These he always tactfully but firmly declined, but it was a fine line he needed to walk--most of his business in that area came from referrals, and keeping the customer happy was Rule No. I.

Though lately a small voice had begun to grow in the back of his mind, more a tickle than anything; it said: Why not? It had been easy to resist at first, but as time went on it had become less easy.

His and Elaine's sex life had been great at the beginning--they couldn't keep their hands off each other. Impromptu sex had been common--behind the garage while doing yard work together, in the kitchen while she was supposed to be cooking, in the car any number of places and times, in an alley once behind a tavern when they were both tipsy from a night out with friends...

But then Tanya had come, and later Sean. And though the frequency and spontaneity had diminished, still it had been good.

But the last few years had seen more and more PTA meetings, and school plays, and volunteer work for fund-raisers at the school, and play-group monitoring, etc., etc. She was in Mommy Mode more often than not, and with two children ten and twelve Omni-present, opportunity had dwindled to a bare shadow of it's former self.

The last year they had resorted--at his instigation--to setting up "sex dates", specific nights where they would engage in passion. But even those were slipping away--"I forgot", or "I have to get to the office early tomorrow", or "I'm beat--can we take a rain check?" had become the norm more than the exception. Nowadays he was lucky to get a cuddle and quick kiss before she rolled over to sleep.

And she seemed perfectly content with that. It seemed to him that the only time she thought of him was when she needed something carried up the stairs or the sink unclogged or the bedroom painted. He supposed it was inevitable, but he missed the passion and freedom they had enjoyed before, and most of all he missed being wanted.

He shook off these thoughts as he peered at the paper that listed where the photography studio was. As he was studying the archaic numbering system embossed in brass above the doors, a mellow contralto voice sounded in his ear.

"Hello. You must be Mr. Boer's replacement. I'm Ms. Feeney, but you can call me Erin. It's nice to meet you."

He turned to find a small woman smiling at him. She looked to be mid-30's, trim but with decent curves, deep dark hair done up in a neat but still stylish gather at the back of her head, and the palest blue eyes he'd ever seen. They were like looking through glacier ice. Her hand was extended.

"Oh, uh, yeah...hi. I'm Mr. Chandler, but you can call me Dutch, Erin." He repeated her name so as to embed it in memory; it was a trick he'd learned dealing with the paying public. Nothing seemed to cool customer's enthusiasm as fast as forgetting their name.

"I see you're trying to make sense of our rather confused numbering system. Let me see," she said, craning her neck. "Oh, yes. Take this corridor to the end, and turn left," she indicated with her hands. Expressive hands, and very graceful he noted unconsciously. "The photography classroom will be on your right about halfway down."

"Don't worry; you'll get the hang of it soon enough," she smiled. Nice smile, too he noted, not quite as unconsciously. "I see you've brought your lunch," she observed. "You already know where the faculty lounge is?" she asked with an expectant look. When he nodded, she said, "Good. I'll meet you there at lunchtime and introduce you around.

"Well, we both have to be going. It was very nice to meet you, Dutch. I'll see you at lunchtime." And she walked away, his eyes following her for a few seconds. Nice ass he thought very consciously, then turned and made his way in the direction she had pointed.

He walked into the usual bedlam that is homeroom, now fully comfortable. This was his element. No matter the economic circumstances, teenagers were teenagers the world over.

He walked briskly to the front of the room and stood behind the desk, aware that a hush had fallen over the group. He sometimes had that effect, and he had learned to take full advantage of it.

"My name is Mr. Chandler," he said, emphasizing his normal baritone for effect. He turned to mark it out on the blackboard with sweeping strokes, then turned back to face them. "And I'll be your homeroom teacher for this year."

 

[Sexual_Muse]

"Oh my gosh." Am had lead the mad dash to the photography classroom but had suddenly skidded to a halt causing the three girls behind her to crash into each other.

"Ow!" Hiss Leya rubbing her back where Helena's elbow had hit her.

Helena frowned and mouthed a sorry as she tried to look around her friends to see what was going on.

As the tail of the girls running late to homeroom, on the first day even, Vika had almost enough time to stop herself, turning what would have been a head on collision into a strange hug from behind. "Seriously?" The doorway was wheelchair accessible but with three girls crowed around and through it, it was impossible to see what had cause the hold up. "Whats going on?"

"We had the wrong room." Amelia turned around and tried to push her way out of the room but was blocked in by Leya and Helena who were trying to enter.

There had to be something seriously wrong for her never tardy friend to be fighting to get out of a classroom. "Anything less then a naked Alexander Skarsgård..." Vika had started to say knowing just how stupid they all looked hovering in the doorway from this angle.

"No." Leya shook her head laughter sparkling in her eyes at Amelia's beet red face. "More Stephen Moyer cross Brad Pitt." She whispered.

That stopped Am in her tracks as she peeked over her shoulders. "What room number is this?" There was a hitch in Amelia's voice that had Vika checking the brass numbers above the door.

"This is the photography class." Vika confirmed with a violent full body push, forcing her three friends through the doorway at last.

"Damn it Vika!" Cursed Amelia as she spun into the classroom with an embarrassed smile. The only seats left was a table nearest the darkroom, second row from the front. As out of it as Am had been moments before she quickly recovered, pulled herself together and walked with her head high ignoring the puzzled and odd looks she was getting from her classmates.

Helena followed winking and smiling like she was in a parade, even going as far to do a pageant wave as she sat down. Totally unfazed with the shared looks she was getting.

The only one who looked like she was shamed was Leya who hurried to her seat, claiming the one in the corner so she could hide. She didn't like unnecessary attention and their scene at the doorway had given every set of eyes in the room more then enough cause to stare as the four girls walked late into homeroom.

"You guys are such nutcases!" Vika groaned nodding and accepting that she was getting just as many stares because she was associated with the guilty party. "I really don't understand what that was all about."

"I'd say more David Boreanaz cross Hugh Grant." Helena corrected.

Vika was confused and her eyes drifted from friend to friend. Was there something in the coffee that had done this to the lot of them? Or was it in the air? She couldn't figure it out and it didn't help any when Amelia chipped in her opinion over this human mash up.

Amelia's head tiled to the side as if studying something and Vika followed her gaze to the object that held her attention. "Jon Hamm crossed Travis Stork." She nodded happy with her comparison.

It was a comparison that Vika had almost missed, her jaw hanging open in shock. "Holy shit. I win."

"What?" It was her friend's turn to be confused now as they turned to look at her.

"Dirk Chandler crossed MY UNCLE."

"As in Uncle Dutch?" Amelia questioned looking back at the man in front of the blackboard. She had met him a few times when they were young children but that had been years ago for Amelia.

It had been some years for her as well and while her uncle might have looked a little different then how she remembered him, he was still the same man despite the few years he had aged.

"You have an uncle?" Leya asked doubting the family resemblance.

Vika nodded knowing that she looked more like the members of her father's family. "Mommy Mary's brother." She explained using the coined nickname by which her friends called her mom. Being such close friends her family was their family and vice versa. Calling everyone's mother Mom had gotten confusing, thus the tagnames. Daddy Derrick and Mommy Mary for Vika's parents and a collection of others for everyone else parental units.

"Well haven't we been kept out of the loop." Moaned Helena with a roll of her eyes.

"Tell me about it."

"You mean you didn't know." Helena frowned when Vika agreed with her.

"Nope. Count me just as surprised as you. More even."

Amelia's blush had gone away and now she looked guilty. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" If anything Vika had been slightly amused by her friends' antics.

Amelia looked uncomfortable in her seat and she shifted in her chair a few times before stating the reason for her apology. "For not recognizing him and for, well, you know... Going all girly over him."

Vika waved away her Amelia's apology and Helena and Leya's nodding heads. "You guys didn't know and it had been nearly nine years since you say him. Plus out of all the teachers we have here, he would be the cutest if I wasn't related to him." She admitted to ease her friend's guilt. Of all the faculty members at Coeus eighty percent were women and what little were men were old, fat and gross. "So don't worry about it." Vika shrugged turning at last to face the front hoping that they wouldn't be called on for their tardiness and scene at the doorway.

 

[BurningMonkey]

Dutch had watched in amused silence as the foursome had stumble-bumbled into the room and then walked abashedly to the empty seats on the other side of the room. Four cheerleaders. Great.

When they had taken their seats and quieted, he let the moment stretch, looking directly at them. Just as the silence was starting to become uncomfortable, he cocked one eyebrow at them--a trick he'd been able to do all his life, and it stood him in good stead as a teacher. It signaled loud and clear: Really? You really did that? Seriously?

"Now that the Keystone Kops contingent has arrived," he said turning to the rest of the class, "let's get on with business, shall we?" He knew the reference was lost on the majority of them, but maybe someone would be inspired or curious enough to look it up.

"I only hope they make a more graceful and organized entry onto the field when they're at the game," he finished with one last zinger. He detested tardiness, and wanted to reinforce the point. With any luck, the performance wouldn't be repeated, at least not by those four.

Picking up the roster, he proceeded. "Okay, I'm going to call roll for the first few days until I get to know who are and can associate names with faces."

"Anderson, Allison..." he looked up for the hand, tried to imprint the face on his memory.
"Andrews, Bradley..."

 

[BurningMonkey]

"Carter, Victoria..." And then he realized why one of the cheerleaders had looked so familiar.

He looked up from the sheet, directly at Vicka. Yes. That was his niece. Now he could see the resemblance to her father, and some traces of her mother, his sister.

He smiled, a genuine smile of recognition. "Well, hello, Vicka. I didn't realize you were in this homeroom. It's good to see you. We'll have to talk after the bell rings."

God, she's beautiful, he thought. Last time he'd seen her, she was a flat-chested plain-faced colt, all legs and elbows. She had blossomed into a lovely young lady.

He shook his head. Where had the years gone? I guess time flies even if you're not having fun, he thought.

"Caruso, Anthony..." he continued the count.

 

[Sexual_Muse]

She felt her friends shrink from the stare down but Vika knew her uncle and met the look without flinching. When he cocked one of his eyebrows she smirked at how funny he was. Sure he thought he was being big and bad but in her eyes all she saw was the uncle who used to give her piggyback rides when she was younger and used to make up storie for her as she looked through his picture albums.

"Wow, I don't remember him being so..." Amelia struggled to find the right word as she ducked her head in an effort to avoid being looked at.

"Scary?" Helena offered.

"I'm thinking hot. Sorry V but that scowling look of disapproval just does it for me."

Vika looked back at Leya not quite sure if she was joking or not. There was nothing she could do, she loved these girls as if there were her true blooded sisters. Getting rid of them would just be wrong, right? Just then she remembered Jenna in her warm-up sweats and she debated over how wrong it really would be if she got up and sat next to any other the other eight people in homeroom that weren't Amelia, Helena or Leya.

Keystone Kops? Even he wasn't old enough for that to be clue to his age. If it was, then he was looking hella good for a one hundred year old man. "I get to be Ford Sterling." Vika mumbled more to herself then anyone else.

"What?" Poor Helena looked so confused.

Vika shook her head waving away Helena's confusion. "Nevermind."

Amelia blushed at the jab but Helena and Leya frowned. Had it been anyone other then her uncle she would have said something smart back but he was new and didn't know that this was the first time ever that Amelia was late to anything in her whole like and was equally as rare for her other friends. It wasn't something Vika shared with them and knew she would have made a second home of detention for being late if it wasn't for them.

The smile on Vika's face only grew when Dirk's face registered shock and surprise. "I noticed." She tilted her head in answer to talking after class. "Sure Mr. Chandler." Vika had gotten into the habit of calling him Dirk when she was younger, liking that she got away with it when no one else seemed to and as easy as the name was to come to her lips she had a feeling calling him Dirk in front of the class on his first day would be a no-no. In fact she had name her pet tortoise Dirk and had been sad her mother made her give it away when she felt it got too big.

"If you like I can help pass out the class schedules since I know who everyone is." Vika offered. The class, like all class, numbered in the ten to fourteen range with twelve, like their class, being the average.

 

[BurningMonkey]

"Thank you, Vicka; that would help me a lot," he answered, smiling again, and picking up the sheaf of papers from his desk.

As she got up from her seat to come take the schedules, he let his eyes wander over her. He had been too busy and disgruntled to really take notice of her before.

She was not only beautiful, but moved with a sinuous grace.He knew she had been in gymnastics, field hockey, and now cheerleading apparently, but he'd never really appreciated the supple flow of her muscles under her skin until this moment. And unlike other athletic women he knew and had known, she had none of that whalebone-and-rawhide look that was so popular as the personification of "fit" these days. She was nicely filled out, with nice curves in all the right places.

Some guy somewhere is going to be very lucky when he lands this one, he thought.

As Vicka handed out the schedules, he checked the clock on the wall. Homeroom was almost over. Homeroom never lasted very long; it was normally only for taking attendance and promulgating whatever announcements the administration sent out.

For the last few minutes everyone sat quietly perusing the schedules, refreshing their memories on what they had filled out last spring but had mostly forgotten by now.

The bell rang and everyone rose, picking up backpacks and totes and various other items and started wending their way out the door, checking to see where their first class was.

Vicka and her friends made their way to the desk, where Dutch opened his arms wide to welcome his niece.

 

[Sexual_Muse]

Vika took the offered stack and quickly passed them out to the other eleven students in her homeroom class, pocketing her and saving her friend's for last so that when she took her seat she could hand them to their respective owners seating.

The schedule was the same as it had been the last three years. School gates open at six in the morning. Breakfast was served from 6:30 am to 7:30 am. Homeroom started at 7:30 am and lasted for a half an hour with a ten minute crossing between homeroom and first period. First period was English; Gothic Lit that she shared with Leya a fun class that both girls were excited to have together. A twenty minute break and it was off to second period AP French Language and Culture. Ten minute crossing and third period Photography. Right before an hour lunch and then fourth period History; Archaeology. Ten minute crossing for Math; Probability and Statistics for fifth period. A class she hated but at least shared with Amelia who had more patience with numbers then Vika did. Another twenty minute break before sixth and last period Science; AP Environmental Sciences that she had with Helena. A class they would more then likely get into trouble together in. Flashbacks of eight grade Earth Sciences had her and Helena cracking up with laughter.

As each class was an hour long it meant that classes ran from 7:30 am to 4:10 pm if you counted homeroom as a class. After sixth period were after school programs and sports. For Vika this year it meant cheerleading from 4:10 pm to as late as 6:00 pm when the school gates closed.

When the bell rang for the end of homeroom Vika approached the front of the class not expecting her friends to follow her. She was even more surprised when Dirk opened his arms in what looked like a hug. She knew the school rule of conduct between teachers and students but as family she figured it didn't really apply or count and she walked into the embrace and tucked her head under his head and snuggled close, her ear flat with is muscular chest. He strong beating of his heart matching her own, strange and comforting. Not on to leave the other hugger hanging she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tight.

After an appropriate amount of time Vika pulled back from the hug but didn't step back from the embrace, moving so that it evolved into a side half hug as she introduced her friends. "Uncle Dirk this is Amelia, you've meet her years ago."

Amelia blushed and smiled, oddly quiet.

"And this is Helena."

Helena at least had her voice and she extended her hand in a quick handshake and said hello.

"And Leya."

"Why am I always the last to be introduced?" Leya frowned at Vika before turning and smiling at Dirk. She didn't offer her hand but her smile was friendly enough.

"Order of appearance." Vika answered sticking out her tongue.

Amelia shifted uncomfortably and glanced at her watch. "I have to go to Chemistry and its on the other side of the building and a floor down."

"Yeah..." Helena looked sad to have to go too. "Consumer Finances it's not all that far but I want to drop off this bid ol' duffle in my locker."

"Good idea." Leya smiled. They all had lockers on the same block closest to the commons and the exit by the amphitheater. "Want me to drop off your bag?"

Vika nodded and pulled a small book bag and handed the rest of her stuff and the bulky duffle bag to Leya. Together her three friends waved a good bye to Vika and her uncle. "I'm in your photography class, third period." She mentioned still in the safety of his half hug. Vika didn't know what he wanted to talk about so she stood there and waited. There wasn't a whole lot of time but there was enough that if he had to say something important he had the time to.

 

[BurningMonkey]

"I know it's against the rules for teachers and students to hug," Dutch said, looking down at her face, "but we are family, and I didn't think it would hurt this once. I's so good to see you!"

She felt good, half-nestled under his arm. She felt very good. Maybe too good... He was suddenly very aware of the way their bodies touched along their lengths. He shifted away from her slightly, putting some space between them.

"How are things at home? How's your mother doing?" he asked.

 

[Sexual_Muse]

Vika wondered if her uncle didn't like her friends, he hadn't said anything to them when she had introduced them and while she felt like she wanted to say something about it, it didn't seem to bother her friends that her uncle all but ignored them.

"It's good to see you too." She noticed when he moved away from her and Vika took it as a subtle hint that the public family affection was nearing an end and she follewed his lead and shifted even further away. It put a strain on keeping her arm around him and she dropped her arm so that she could link them behind her back as she caught up with her long missed family member. "Mom?" She was ricking being late for her first class for family updates? It wasn't that she didn't love her mom and was more then willing to update him on her home like and his sister but it wasn't worth getting detention. "Well, umm... She's fine." Vika had assumed that he had wanted to talk about something important and she shifted her weight uncomfortably. "If you just want to catch up can we do this after school maybe?" She had cheerleading practice but there was more time between her last class and the start of practice. "Or maybe even in class later on today? We could get lunch together." She offered slyly glancing at the wall clock behind her uncle.

 

[BurningMonkey]

“Okay, honey; I won’t keep you. You probably have to run to the other end of the building now, and this place is huge! We’ll catch up later, only let’s do it after school, okay? I don’t like to take up class time with personal business, and I have a sorta lunch date, I guess, with a Ms…Feeney? I think? She offered to introduce me around the rest of the staff.

“All right, then, go, before you’re late,” he waved her off with a smile. “It’s good to see you. Looking forward to talking more.”

His eyes lingered as she gathered her things and walked out the door, liking the way her uniform skirt swayed back and forth jauntily below her hips. Down boy, the voice in his head whispered amusedly. That’s your niece, your sister’s daughter. He shook his head ruefully. No matter how good she looked now, a woman grown, he could still see her as the little girl to whom he’d given piggy-back rides and who had been bold enough to call him “Dirk” when all the rest of the family hadn’t dared.

Truth be told, she didn’t look much like Mary except around the eyes, and some of her gestures. Still, she was a fine-looking young lady. But God knew there were enough good-looking young women here for fantasy fodder without putting her on that list. Like her friends, who were all attractive in their own right in retrospect. But somehow they had seemed to fade into the background as they were all walking up to the desk, and he’d only seen her…

He glanced up at the clock and down to his first class roster. Time to put on your game face, son, he told himself. It was a ritual he followed every day, assuming Teacher Mode; the persona settled over him comfortably, like an old pair of sweats, and when he looked up again the people filing into the classroom were no longer young men and women—they were Students, and he was here to fill their heads with knowledge to the extent that his talents and their willingness would allow.

The sound of the first period bell cut through all of the settling-in noises, and he stepped to the blackboard. “Good morning,” he said, “my name is Mr. Chandler.” He indicated the name he’d already marked on the board. “As you may or may not know, Mr. Boer is taken ill and won’t be with us this year. I’m taking his place.”

“I’ve looked over his notes and your previous work, and I have a pretty clear idea of where we all are and how he wanted to proceed. So let’s begin, shall we?”

“First and foremost, a photographer is like a painter, except that instead of brushes and pigments and canvas, we paint with light…”