Teacher May I? (please PM your opening)

[Liplovinman]

It hadn't been his intention to stop her, but she looked so familiar. He was past the point of no return once he had gotten closer. Would he look foolish if he wandered away now?



"I'm sorry, you looked like someone I knew. By the time I realized it, well, it was too late to pass it off, I guess I felt I owed you an explanation..." Well, if he was afraid his approach would sound like a pick up line, that dissolved in the wake of his ineptitude. Why shouldn't he be embarrassed, if he had thought about it, this girl may have looked like someone he knew, but she would have needed cryogenics to be the same age 20 years later.



Peter Wake was a professor at East Lake Academy. Some had called it a finishing school in days past, but it was simply another path for those who wanted fast track training in a particular field. For the past 4 years, Peter had headed the humanities department. He had turned out successful writers, actors and even a few agents in his short tenure with the department. As his connections grew, so would his success. The likelihood of a past graduate hiring on an Academy student became easier as he populated the fields with successful contributors.



Now he had stumbled upon this exquisite red head, only three days into the semester. Falling all over himself with the 20-something, ranting about someone from his past. What he would not say was that she had been a classmate of his in college, when he was 24. At the ripe age of 43 (he hoped he was not overripe), he could be the young girl's father.

 

[BlackTeen]

At 22, Sophia had a life she was content with. She could afford an appartment that she shared with 2 other students, as she had some money form her family and a part time job ain a records shop. She had great roommates, a lot of great friends, time to party, and good grades. The only thing she missed was a boyfriend, being single for a couple of months now.
On that sunny day, as she was chatting on the grass with a couple of friends, Mr Wake came by. The man was quite handsome for his age, and there were some foul rumors on the campus about him being gay. When he came and called at her and then gave that excuse of her looking like someone he knew, Sophia's friends giggled. She tried to remain calm but couldn't help a blush and a smile.

- Seems I'm not her, Mr Wake.

Sophia felt embarassed at her friends whispers and giggling behind her. What did he want?

 

[Liplovinman]

He watched the f lush cover her chest, trying not to stare. She was lovely, embarrassed and he was to blame. Still, she knew him and he did not have the same pleasure.
"Forgive me for interrupting, you seem to have an unfair advantage - I've n oat had th h we pleasure of an introduction."
He sounded ancient, something in his upbringing that he could no rtf escape.

 

[BlackTeen]

- I'm Sophia Emerston, mr Wake. I follow classes in litterature. We haven't met yet, but I know who you are of course. I hope that one day I'll follow your classes, having a teacher as reknown as you would be an honour.

Her freinds still giggling behind her, Sophia felt her voice broke. She realized what all this may look like, but it wasn't. All this was a very innocent introduction. NOthing to be ashamed of. But Sophia felt weird, she knew what her freidns were whispering about.

 

[Liplovinman]

"Well thank you Sophia," He dropped his voice low, "just tell them you were buttering me up, they might buy it if you should ever take one of my classes."

"Feel free to audit my Romance in Literature class Sophia, you might find it intriguing. I suppose I should get to my next lecture. Sorry to have bothered you."

With that he strode away, wondering what odd impression he must have made on the girl. Well, Lit professors were notoriously individualistic, perhaps he could rest on that if he was caught staring her way in the future.

 

[BlackTeen]

Sophia turned to face her friends... she was all red. And she looked at them reproachfully...

- Don't say a word!

but the words came out like a flood. Given the fact that he did spoke of romantic litterature it was even worse. Sophia began to regret the moment he had come to her. Although he was handsome, this situation was not good.

From there she tried to avoid him as much as possible. But she couldn't stop her mind from thinking about this. And besides, his classes were really supposed to be good.

 

[Liplovinman]

His mind travelled back to his friend of the past, a brief and heated romance, it flared bright, but burned out just as quickly. Her name was Scarlet, a nickname that he had given her, what a striking feature, he recalled, those red locks. She was every bit a firecracker, giving back every bit of the grief that others tried to cause. She had a remarkable laugh, one that carried you away, you never felt excluded, always included with Scarlet's laugh. Had his family not moved away, who knew what might have occurred between them? When he had tried years later to rekindle the romance, she had a life of her own, branched away from his memories, the one thing he had that remained dear of their relationship.

Now he given Sophia an embarrassment for which she would not soon forgive him. He had not only not seen her for a week, but wondered if she was even still on campus. Worried that he had somehow caused a student to drop their books and run for home, he dropped by admissions and spoke with a colleague.

"Sophia Emerston, she mentioned wanting to audit a class, but I have not seen her. If she is still attending classes, I thought I might speak to her about it. I'd like to give someone else the seat."

It sounded plausible, but it was the only way he could think of to obtain a class list for her and check with a fellow instructor about her status. He managed to find a sociology professor, Bertram Hayes, who had her slated for class today. He'd drop in on him sometime later and see if Sophia was still attending classes.

 

[BlackTeen]

Sophia's moves around school were always under the threat of meeting him, which would mean something worse from her friends. Until that day. She was standing in the hall with two friends, they were chatting just before sociology class. A joke, a second joke... and there her reknown and loud and cristaline laughter filled the hall.
Her laughter broke when she saw him further walking towards their gorup. And she turned a bit to go on chatting without looking towards him.

 

[Liplovinman]

He heard her laugh from down the hall, hadn't expected it, but felt the smile spread across his face. She turned away from him, but she had seen him. No need for him to pester the Sociology professor now, he had his answer. Another colleague was walking toward the far hall, Peter fell into stride with him as they walked down the hall toward Sophia and her entourage.

Just as he thought he had an excuse to travel the length of the hall, he found himself alone, deserted. Peter had walked with him to his class and now felt very out of place in the midst of the students, trying to steal a glance at Sophia without getting caught.

He heard her laughter again, much more subdued, but bright and captivating. Peter decided not to invade her private space again, but instead walked by and gave a wave.

"Literature class - there's still room Sophia!" And off he traveled to his own building.

 

[BlackTeen]

Sophia's and her freind chattering stopped when Mr Wake passed by and talked to her in waving. Then her freind laughed louder. And Sophia fell silent, frozen.

- please, it's not funny.

her friend began talking about him having a crush on her and everything... And Sophia went away, alone in the halls. She wandered a moment without really thinking about where she was going but she ended in front of the litterature class... almost unwillingly. She pested against her subconscious and what that may imply. But as the bell rang, she entered the class and sat in the last row, keeping as discreet as possible.

 

[Liplovinman]

Peter found his way into his class, still ahead of time, though his walk across the campus had been a brisk one to keep his normal timeframe intact. He had been taken off guard as Sophia took the ninja approach to entering his class. She did not make eye contact with anyone, found a darker area at the back of the lecture hall and sat alone, quiet and somewhat despondent.

It bothered him that he had made her this uncomfortable, he certainly had not intended to force her here. If she allowed he would discuss this with her after class, away from her friends. He would first make certain that none of her friends were part of his enrollment, endeavoring not to create a situation of more issue. Perhaps she would relax somewhat if his lecture was up to par.

The discussion of the day centered around Julius Caesar, Antony and Cleopatra, one of his favorites. It was a raucous discussion as the debate began over fidelity, power, love and the implications that any single stream might lead to, let alone the inclusion of all three. He moderated several arguments with upper class students, encouraged the entrance of new voices, never challenging the worth of their thoughts or their instincts. There was after all no real answer to be found, the forum was for the exploration of ideas, to challenge suppositions and discuss the threads of action that complication brought to a situation where emotions were involved. As the class ended he thought about approaching Sophia, but instead watched her as she was about to depart. If this was of interest, she might return. She held his attention as she descended the stairs.

 

[BlackTeen]

Sophia listened, being pushed into a new world. She hadn't read anything abozut those people, but the possibilities seemd intriguing.
Bell rang, it was the end. She took her stuff and stood, began walking up towards the door, in the midst of the other students. And she stopped. She waited for the other ones to rush past her and into the halls. And slowly turned to face Mr Wake who was standing by his desk downstairs. And she tried a shy smile.

 

[Liplovinman]

"I hope it wasn't too boring Sophia, I'll understand if you decide not to return. And -". He took another step in her direction as the last of the classroom emptied "It was a pleasure having you in my class, if only for the day". His smile was broad, it betrayed nothing of his darker thoughts for her, only the comfort of a friendly face and a warm smile.

 

[BlackTeen]

She took a couple of steps downstairs towards him, holding her papers and everything ni crossed arms in front of her, like a protection. She was slightly blushing.

- it seemed nice Mr Wake. In fact I find it interesting, although I didn't read the story. But I was wondering so many things. I'd gladly join the class but... It seems I got some holes to fill compared to the other students that are already following your classes.

 

[Liplovinman]

He considered her posture and decided to keep his distance for the moment.

"Well, the lucky thing about auditing, at least until the cutoff, you really have the chance to catch up, read the material or simply enjoy the class without any risk. Once you enroll, however, you'll see the task master come out in me and you'll be forced to do my bidding! " He gave her a stage worthy wink, a little injection of humor never hurt in a situation this tense, though the tension was entirely hers, he was at home in his world, she was new to it all.

"Give it some thought, no need to rush into it. Oh, I do apologize for putting you through all the issues with your friends, I was afraid you were avoiding me..." He knew she had been keeping her distance, at least now that she had gotten into his class, he hoped she would stay. Her red hair was a lovely accent to her pale skin and he tried not to imagine any more of her flesh than necessary as they spoke.

 

[BlackTeen]

- Well, if you say so. Could you give me the references of the books we're supposed ot have read?

She blushed a bit more, taking out her freckles, when he spoke about her friends.

- Oh you know, we're just...girls... teenagers... nothing bad.

it wasn't true, she had felt bad when her friends laughed. but if she handled it well, they would never know she was in his classes.

 

[Liplovinman]

Peter handed her a syllabus of the class, quizzes and tests. It included the reference materials, books, recommended reading and some of his notes on each book or discussion topic.

"I'd recommend checking out the first few from the library, if you have trouble let me know, I can always lend you my copy until someone returns something you can pick up."

His email was on the syllabus, as well as numbers for his office and for the department.

"Jot off an email if there is something you need, I have multiple copies at home." He stopped, the words were a little unsteady. He had been searching for some word other than multiple, worried about any unwelcome connotation, and though 'many' would have been adequate, he could not stop the word from emerging.

 

[BlackTeen]

- Thanks for all this Mr Wake.

In fact he was being gentle and caring. the way he had embarassed her had then really been unwillingly it seemed. That was a relief.
Sophia tok it all and walked quickly up the stairs, her skirt floating around her hips. She reached the halls, and the restrooms, and leaned agaisnt a wall, taking deep breaths. This was all so strange. But why? The words of her freinds ran through her mind. No he wasn't seducing her. And no she wasn't teasing him.

Sophia walked thorugh the library and ran home. She spent a large amount of hours that evenign reading classical romance stories. Lovers. Meetings. That was edifying. That was a whole different world form the boys-girls relations she was used to. Damnit!

 

[Liplovinman]

He had walked after her to the door, watching her from a respectable distance, but never seeing her turn back. What was it about women who turn back to check on those looking after them? If it was true, he had no chance with this beauty.

The remainder of the day, he thought about, perhaps even obsessed over Sophia. He ought to put that out of his mind. It was not proper to faun over a student, and he would not allow himself, if he was able to control it.

 

[BlackTeen]

Returning to school was strange. Pn one way she had to make sure her friends didn't find out about her taking mr Wake's classes. And besides she felt good following these classes. he was an astonishing teacher, always so passionate about all this, always able to make you feel passionate. And what at first wasn't something she appreciated, was now a passion. She felt like ready to eat and devour books by the dozen. She kept discreet in the back rows for weeks. And she made her best to avoid further direct contact with him.

 

[Liplovinman]

Peter saw Sophia in his class, day after day, following along, though not really contributing. He was not the type to be blindsided by a look or a movement, but he did find that he was always aware of her in his periphery. She seemed studious, but never ventured from her back row seat.

Her scores, though she was only auditing were surprisingly good. What she neglected to say in class, she more than made up for in her essays - though she was not obligated to produce them unless she intended to discontinue auditing and enroll in his offering.

Peter had a plan for the day, something to shake up status quo. He called the entire class to attention and held up his pop quiz. This was not the ordinary quiz as he held 5 essay questions for the room to see.

"Ok, back to elementary school for all of you. Start counting, you are one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight... now again, one, two, three..." He managed to segment the class into 8 teams of 9-10 students.

"4 essay questions, you all need to review. Then, discuss amongst yourself and decide what 4 presenters will represent your team. I will call on each team, one at a time as we make it through the process. If I don't feel your argument or if the class feels it's week, you'll be asked to stop. We'll go through the first two questions with every team. The next round, only the survivors. Questions 3 and 4 will be tie breakers if needed."

There was a rumble through out the hall, but he made certain his eyes did not connect with Sophia. She was to be part of this, perhaps she would see that her ideas had worth.

 

[BlackTeen]

A group work! And meaning finding a spokesperson for the group, damnit! That made it horrible. Sophia thought about leaving the classroom at that precise moment. but something kept her here. She relaized she didn't want to dispaoint Mr Wake. With a long sigh, she also realized she was in the team with some of the most introverted and charismatic students of the class. not that she spoke a lot during classes, but those were more than calm even outside of here. She followed them into a corner of the classroom and they sat around two tables, ready to receive the questions from mr Wake.

 

[Liplovinman]

Sophie's choice, Stingo, Nathan and Sophie, How would the story change if Sophie had chosen Stingo?

Antony, Cleopatra and Julius Caesar - A classic triangle, could Cleo and Caesar have survived?

Daisy and Gatsby - What was the dilemma for the two?

Beatrice and Benedict - Much Ado about nothing - Classic and biting wit - could the story have survived any other treatment?

They were bold questions, but a team cornering the first two answers would be declared the winner.

He set them to discussion.

 

[BlackTeen]

It was hard tot alk about all that. FIrst because Sophia was not at ease with all this. Second because her partners were not much talkative. How could she express such things about love, about feelings, about those stories that were so far from what she was living in her real life. And how could those writers have written this? Sophia was at a lost. Her partners didn't seem much better than her.

 

[Liplovinman]

"So what drove these people, these characters to their destinies? What passion did one draw from the other that set the wheels in motion? What did the setting enhance or complicate about the relationship?"

"Think back to our friends Romeo and Juliet... What would have been of note about the story if the families got along famously? So.... what drives the romance; an obstacle, outward appearances, fate?"

"You make the argument, but you must back it up! Think about your own life, what has caused you to find your own path and split with the reaction of those around you? Have you had friends say you shouldn't date that person, or you shouldn't go to that party? What in your make up ultimately drives you to make your own decision?"