The School Grounds -English Department

[Britwitch]

The door reads 'Ms Witch - Literature and Language'.

Inside the first thing you notice are the bookcases running around the edge of the room. Leather bound volumes jostle alongside paperbacks. Offering selections from an almost impossibly wide variety of authors and genres. Poetry and prose. Screenplays and scripts.

There is a shelf full of dictionaries and thesauruses, ready to help minds in need.

Another boasts notepads, pencils and pens.

The space is fairly open, tables and chairs arranged to vaguely face the blackboard and desk at the front. She had had the option for a fancy electronic whiteboard but she declined. She loved the flow of chalk on the board, the feel of it. Old fashioned maybe but it was part of her and she would not change it.

Her desk was large and oaken, lockable drawers on either side for keeping important papers...and other things, with a high backed chair behind it.

The room was light and airy. Welcoming she hoped, inspirational she intended.

There is a large poster, laminated, stuck to the wall beside the blackboard. This, more than anything, encapsulates her thoughts on Literature and will form a reference and starting point for much of her teaching.

http://englishskchenderah.wikispaces.com/file/view/literature_img01.jpg/120418457/literature_img01.jpg​

 

[Britwitch]

She ushered him into her room, letting the door close smoothly and silently behind him as she headed over to her desk. Letting the manilla folder drop with a quiet plop onto the surface before gesturing towards the plethora of seats and desks that stood before her.

"Please, do, take a seat," She smiled that bright smile again. "What should I call you? You will, obviously, call me Miss Witch....or simply Miss, depending on which you'd prefer. I'd like to extend you the same courtesy and call you by that which you'd prefer to hear."

A moment of thought as he eventually sat down. Should she head back to her desk. No, she preferred things to be less formal than that. She opted instead to sit in the seat closest to the one of his choosing. Leaning slightly on one hip as she crossed her legs and rested an elbow on the desk.

"I've seen your file, your letter of application, and I do have a few questions - if you'll permit me." Fingers hooked an errant curl behind an ear. "And I think we should start at the very beginning...when did you first believe you had a problem? When did school life become difficult for you?"

 

[hastobedone]

She ushered him in through a door which she eased closed behind her. Bookcases lined every wall, filled with books of every variety, all bound in leather and proudly displaying their titles and authors in gilt letters shining brightly in the light. He had never seen so many books in his life let alone all in one place and at the same time. It took him a minute to take it all in, time in which Ms. Witch had walked towards the desk and dropped the file the receptionist had given her onto it.

She instructed him to take a seat and he clumsily manovoured through the many irregularly placed desks to sit at one nearer the front.

"What should I call you? You will, obviously, call me Miss Witch....or simply Miss, depending on which you'd prefer. I'd like to extend you the same courtesy and call you by that which you'd prefer to hear."

He coughed a little, his mouth like saw dust. "James is fine." He croaked. She had sat down at the desk next to him and was leaning ever so slightly towards him, her cleavage on show between the ruffles of her blouse. He glanced down almost involuntarily just like in the hallway before. His eyes quickly back to her face hoping she hadn't noticed. It appeared she hadn't.

"I've seen your file, your letter of application, and I do have a few questions - if you'll permit me." Fingers hooked an errant curl falling across her eyes and brushed it behind an ear. "And I think we should start at the very beginning...when did you first believe you had a problem? When did school life become difficult for you?"

James spluttered again.

"Sorry would it possible to get a glass of water? I'm getting over a cold and it's..." He pointed to his throat and smiled apologetically. The truth was he hadn't had a cold. His vocal cords were frozen by the beauty of the woman sat opposite him.

 

[Britwitch]

"James is fine."

"James." She repeated quietly to herself. "Very well then, James it shall be."

"Sorry would it possible to get a glass of water? I'm getting over a cold and it's..."

"Oh, of course. Sorry to hear that..." In a smooth movement she was back on her feet. Heels clicked across the room to fill a tumbler with water from a jug on a shelf.

With a concerned expression on her face she returned and offered the water. She didn't sit back where she had before, instead leaning on the desk in front of his seat and looking down, chewing slightly on her lower lip, brow creased in the beginnings of a frown.

"If you are feeling unwell perhaps we should arrange this for another time. Are you intending to stay here in the school? I could put a call through to the school nurse for you."

A hand rose to press lightly against his forehead. He was warm, that she was certain of, but was he feverish? She wasn't sure.

 

[hastobedone]

"Oh, of course. Sorry to hear that..." She slid off of the desk she had been sat on and went across to a bookcase. James watched her go, quickly realising he was watching her swaying hips again. Chastising himself, he pulled his eyes away and focused on a spot on the desk in front of him where someone had made a small doodle.

He didn't see her return but looked up when she placed a glass tumbler filled with clear, cool water in front of him, magnifying the sketch he had focused on. Instead of returning to where she had been, Ms. Witch had propped herself against her desk in front of him forcing him to look up at her. A look of genuine concern on her face, she was biting her lip. He took a gulp of water, his throat clearing and his nerves receding.

"If you are feeling unwell perhaps we should arrange this for another time. Are you intending to stay here in the school? I could put a call through to the school nurse for you."

Oh God, a nurse too. He thought to himself before taking another sip of water to calm himself. If this was what the teachers looked like what would a nurse...He pushed the thought from his head and declined her suggestion.

"No Miss I'm OK, just a little congested." He lied. As he was saying this she had stepped forward and placed a hand on his forehead. James stiffened at her touch, barely daring to breathe. Her skin was as soft as satin and warm. She was closer to him now then she had been since they had met and he could smell her perfume filling his nose. It smelt like roses and a summer afternoon.

"Really Miss, I'm fine. Thank you for the water though." He took another sip. "Ummm...we were talking about my problems?" He waited for her response before speaking. "I suppose it stems from my poor impulse control and lack of attention. I just couldn't do what a teacher said, I had to do my own thing, what I thought would help me. They didn't like that, the teachers, so they would punish me. That's when I would retaliate."

He looked up at her sheepishly, almost embarrashed and thought how ashamed he was that his past had been so appalling. She must look down on me with disgust. He thought.

 

[Britwitch]

"No Miss I'm OK, just a little congested...Really Miss, I'm fine. Thank you for the water though."

She withdrew her hand and sat more upright, looking at him carefully. It could be nerves, she supposed. First day in a new place, meeting with a teacher, especially a new student whose past was a little checkered when it came to his education.

"Ummm...we were talking about my problems?"

"Only if you're sure you can." She wet her lips slightly. "We shall continue until we have managed to establish a plan of action for your time here or until you no longer feel well enough to go on." She nodded before preparing to listen to his answers.

"I suppose it stems from my poor impulse control and lack of attention. I just couldn't do what a teacher said, I had to do my own thing, what I thought would help me. They didn't like that, the teachers, so they would punish me. That's when I would retaliate."

Impulse control. This was interesting. Definitely something she would be able to work with, to help him with. She nodded, thinking things over in her mind.
"I want to understand as clearly as I can so, if you don't mind, I do have a few more questions for you. They might get a little, well, personal but that's the nature of the problem I believe. Retaliation we will deal with later, for now it's your impulses I would like to focus on.

"You say you had difficulty following the instructions of your teachers, that you'd 'take matters into your own hands', as it were. Can I ask if this problem existed in other areas of your life or just at school. What I mean is, can you follow the leadership of another at all? And the impulse to do what you wanted, this urge you just couldn't control, is this also something that you've experienced beyond your education or do you find yourself caving into desires in other situations as well?

"Please, be as frank and honest as you can. There are no judgements here."

 

[hastobedone]

All the while James was speaking, Ms. Witch was leaning against her desk, nodding her head every so often, listening carefully. He hadn't expected this. Whenever he tried to talk to people about what he was feeling inside they didn't seem to care and they would try to change the subject as soon as possible. But she looked like she genuinely cared about what he was saying. His nerves eased a little at this.

"I want to understand as clearly as I can so, if you don't mind, I do have a few more questions for you. They might get a little, well, personal but that's the nature of the problem I believe. Retaliation we will deal with later, for now it's your impulses I would like to focus on."

James had never been on for talking about personal things to people he knew well let alone people he had only just met. But there was something about Ms. Witch, standing there in front of him, that made him trust her and want to carry on talking about whatever she wanted to know.

"You say you had difficulty following the instructions of your teachers, that you'd 'take matters into your own hands', as it were. Can I ask if this problem existed in other areas of your life or just at school. What I mean is, can you follow the leadership of another at all? And the impulse to do what you wanted, this urge you just couldn't control, is this also something that you've experienced beyond your education or do you find yourself caving into desires in other situations as well?

He took another sip of water, smaller this time, before he responded.

"I guess the leadership thing is universal. I haven't been able to follow instructions for very long...I mean it always starts off OK but then something happens and I act as I see fit." He paused, "I might follow someone if they thought like I did but if they exist, I haven't met them yet." Still she listened, not saying anything but nodding and looking at his eyes. There was a silence between them, it felt as if he needed to fill it.

"The impulse thing is the same...If I want something, I just go and get it." He looked up into her eyes again and saw how she was listening to his every word, not wanting to interrupt or change direction. He looked down at the glass of water in his hands.

"I've stolen things because I wanted them but didn't have the money." He daren't look up through fear of judgement. "But that's why I'm here...now. I want to change."

 

[Britwitch]

"I guess the leadership thing is universal. I haven't been able to follow instructions for very long...I mean it always starts off OK but then something happens and I act as I see fit. I might follow someone if they thought like I did but if they exist, I haven't met them yet."

There were definitely signals in what he was saying. This was not the first tale of this nature she had heard. Many young men found fault with the authority figures in their lives, not all reacted as strong as James had but still. There were many resentful males wandering around as a result.

"The impulse thing is the same...If I want something, I just go and get it...I've stolen things because I wanted them but didn't have the money."

The poor young man. What could, and should, have been harnessed by his former educators and turned into a drive for education had been allowed to become this destructive urge he felt he couldn't control. He needed to relearn some basic behaviours. Less punishment, that was obvious. More reward.

"But that's why I'm here...now. I want to change."

"And I'll help you." She moved from her perch on the desk, gently taking the glass out of his hands and moving it to rest on another desk.

"James," Her voice was quiet, soothing in tone and she waited until she could see his face before continuing.

"What I think we need to do is identify the urges you feel, the exact feelings you experience, before the urges take over and cause you to do things you'd later regret." She explained carefully. "That way we can work on ways to counteract them in the future. To help you gain control back over your own behaviour. We can work on encouraging the desire to earn the right to do what you want, try to get your mind in a more appropriate place for learning."

A hand reached out and fingers with short, but well manicured, nails took hold of a chair and pulled it over to stand directly in front of his own. Sitting down upon it, so she was directly in front of him, so their knees were almost touching.

"Now remember, this school has the reputation it has for helping through allowing it's staff to use methods that others simply cannot." She reached up and began to carefully untuck her top from the waistband of her skirt. "What we're doing is for your benefit, even if it may seem a little unorthodox."

A slightly different smile now. Something definitely different as arms pulled skyward and the black top peeled from her frame, revealing the generous swells of her chest contained, only just, within a black lace bra. Sitting back she met his eyes and smiled again. That different, almost dangerous, smile.

"So, tell me how you feel right now. You don't have to pretend that you don't have urges, James, I saw your eyes." There was a slightest element of shyness in her smile for a second. "Tell me what you want."

She leant forwards a little, resting her hands lightly on his knees. Whispering mischievously.

"If you tell me what you want to do...you might get to do it..."

 

[hastobedone]

"James." He looked up at her, expecting to see a stern face looking back at him with disapproval. But her face was soft and caring. Open and soothing. "What I think we need to do is identify the urges you feel, the exact feelings you experience, before the urges take over and cause you to do things you'd later regret."

She moved away from the desk and pulled a chair over to where he was sitting. Sitting down, her face was level with his and they looked at one another eye-to-eye. Her bare knees were a hair's width away from the knee of his trousers.

"Now remember, this school has the reputation it has for helping through allowing it's staff to use methods that others simply cannot." Her hands moved from their resting position and started gently pulling the bottom of her shirt from the waistband of her skirt. James let his eyes drop and watched, a quick flash of skin at her naval bringing back the thoughts he had tried to bury earlier.

There was a smile on her lips. More mischievous than kind and before he knew it, she was pulling her shirt up, over her head. James eyes, which had ben so focussed on her naval, now followed the lower edge of her top in its gradual ascent over her body stopping only when the black lace of her bra was revealed. The thoughts he had pushed back in the corridor returned at the sight of her heaving breasts barely being contained by that thin material.

Miss Witch's smile had changed again. Still mischievous but now with an added element. Something daring as if she was taunting him. James didn't like being taunted.

"So, tell me how you feel right now. You don't have to pretend that you don't have urges, James, I saw your eyes. Tell me what you want."

She leant forwards a little, resting her hands lightly on his knees. He felt a stirring in his trousers at the intimate contact. She leaned in closer, her breath soft like the wind on his neck, whispering,

"If you tell me what you want to do...you might get to do it..."

Faster than he knew he could move, James grabbed Ms. Witch's bare mid-drift and pushed her up and way from where they were sat. Both chairs were hurled across the classroom from the sheer explosive force of his lunge. Twisting her body in his hands, he carried on pushing until they collided with her large wooden desk causing her body to bend at her naval. He fell forward too and the weight of his body fell on top of her forcing their faces to come close together again.

"I want you Miss." He whispered.

 

[Britwitch]

Chairs were sent clattering across the floor, knocking others over and bumping tables. Making rubber feet drag noisily across the floor. When at last the room was silent all she could hear was breathing.
His heavy and close to her fave. Her own, remarkably level despite what had just happened.

"I want you Miss."

"You need to tell me how you feel, James. Help me to help you." Her voice was slightly strained from the position, from the pressure of his body over hers, against hers. She didn't struggle, didn't try to push him off and away even though her hands were braced against his shoulders which suddenly seemed broader than they had in the lobby. Stronger than they had when he'd been sat in the chair, sipping his water.

"What do you want with me, James? Hmm?" Blue eyes looked deeply into his, trying to see it, to find the answer. "...and what makes you think you can just have it?"

 

[hastobedone]

They were face to face, just inches apart, lying flat against the hard surface of the desk. His breath was ragged and heavy from his sudden burst of savagery. Hers was surprisng unaffected, calm and measured.

"You need to tell me how you feel, James. Help me to help you."

She was not fighting back. She just lay beneath him quite still. Her arms were resting on his shoulders out of comfort more than an attempt to push him away from her. He could have her right there over the desk so easily. The smell of roses was entering his nose again, the scent heavy between them. Her icy blue eyes were looking into his, searching for something deep within him.

"What do you want with me, James? Hmmm?...And what makes you think you can just take it?"

He looked into those eyes of hers and realised that she wasn't scared of him. She wasn't frightened like all of the others who would scream and kick and run off. He took one hand away from her, releasing her arm from it's pin, and ran it up her bare leg, up and under the hem of her skirt. Teasing the flesh of her inner thigh where the material of her panties began, he whispered at her again,

"What I want, Miss, is to fuck you right here, right now over this desk." He grinned, "And I can do that because you took your top off. You want me to."

And with that he crossed his hand over the material of her panties and started rubbing her sex through the thin lacy material.

 

[Britwitch]

She moved then, when she felt the warmth of his palm against her leg, moving higher. Muscles tensed, a voice started to panic somewhere in the back of her mind.

Error. You brought the big guns out too early Brit, far too early. Error.

It seemed someone was suddenly a lot more confident than he had been moments earlier.

"What I want, Miss, is to fuck you right here, right now over this desk. And I can do that because you took your top off. You want me to."

"That may well be what you want, but-"

Her voice broke off as wandering fingers stopped wandering and started rubbing, her breathing becoming unsteady for a few moments.

"-but I can tell you now, that is not what you're going to get to do. Now, be a good boy, let me up and we'll try this again. I thought you were a big boy, thought you would cope. I obviously overestimated you."

A push to his shoulders now. A quirk of delicate eyebrow.

"Let me up or things are likely to get ugly, James. And I really don't like ugly things."

 

[hastobedone]

He was pleased her breathing had become a little more unsteady. He paused for a second only to pull her skirt up and over her waist revealing her pantie covered ass to him. Returning to his rubbing, faster now, he saw her facade of coolness slip a little. Her eyes were starting to panic a little.

"That may well be what you want, but-" She took a second to compose herself as his fingertip brushed her clit, "-but I can tell you now, that is not what you're going to get to do. Now, be a good boy, let me up and we'll try this again. I thought you were a big boy, thought you would cope. I obviously overestimated you."

He smiled to himself, right in front of her face. Not an evil smile filled with malice but a cocky smile. All of his nervousness had evaporated. All of Miss Witch's talk of impulsive behaviour, her taking her top off, had shown it to him.

"You forget, Miss. I have real problems following orders from people in authority and I don't like that plan at all."

She was pushing against him now trying to get him of her.

Let me up or things are likely to get ugly, James. And I really don't like ugly things."

"Why? Why should I?" He replied only really half listening. She was quite a fighter this Miss Witch and he had to concentrate on keeping her still. Stopping his stimulation of her pussy, James grabbed both of her hands and held them together in one of his. With the other, he loosened the tie he was wearing, winking as he did so.

"Need to keep you still." He said, almost casually as if he was just commenting on the weather. Turning her over so her breasts were pushed against the desk, James brought her two slender wrists together behind her back and tied them together with the tie. She tried to use her legs to push back against him but he was stronger and ready. He kicked each ankle forcing her legs out, stretched wide, her ass hanging invitingly high in the air.

 

[Britwitch]

"You forget, Miss. I have real problems following orders from people in authority and I don't like that plan at all."

He smiled. This wasn't good. In fast, this was about as far removed from good as it was possible to be.

"Why? Why should I?"

"Because you came here for help. You came because you wanted to change!"
She argued back, her voice starting to get louder as he noticed his hand move towards his tie.

Not good. Not good.

"James. Don't do this."

He pinned both hands together and then she really started to struggle. There was a button. Several in fact. Located around the room. Panic buttons. In a school such as this, they were a rarely used necessity. She was desperately trying to reach the one on the underside of her desk's top. Press it and within minutes, help would arrive. Whilst trying to catch his shins or calves with the heels of her shoes.

That's when he turned her over.

"Need to keep you still."

"You're making a mistake, James." Her voice was shaking ever so slightly as she felt the odd coolness of the tie looping around her wrists, binding them tightly.

She tried again, this time with her knee, just a little higher and she'd be within reach of the button. Then he took her legs out from under her, kicking them apart, forcing her legs to spread. He still had time to stop this himself.

"Just look at what you've done, what you're doing. You can't do this."

 

[hastobedone]

"Just look at what you've done, what your doing. You can't do this."

James was stood behind her admiring her pantie covered behind.

"Why?" He laughed, again not with any evil intent, just with mild amusement. "Because I want to and I can."

On the beat of 'can', he stepped forward, ran his fingers under the material of the lace knickers and pulled them down to her ankles. The creamy flesh of her ass was exposed to the warm air that filled the bright room. Sun shone through the high windows, reflecting of her milky skin.

Miss Witch was maintaining her objections but he just placed a finger on her lips, shushing her until she was quiet. With the same finger, he traced a line over her chin, down her neck and over shoulder. A second joined it and began tip-toeing down her back towards the small. There he paused. His tongue replaced the fingers and he ran it sensually down her lower back to where her pert cheeks began. He paused for the briefest of seconds on her hole itself before finally reaching her pussy.

Kneeling behind her he was easily able to keep her legs apart so he had a clean view. His tongue began lapping away between her lips, first running up and down their length before slowly circling her small nub. His hands took up the job when he returned to her lips, slowly pressing and flicking.

 

[Miss_Vivi]

She had been wondering how her staff was handling the new arrivals, and having already peeked into the science room and chuckling at Scuttle, who had things well in hand, the Headmistress headed down the hall to her English teacher's room.

Her crop dangled from her fingers.

Not that she used it often, but it kept most students in line to know that they would get smacked if they stepped out of line.

She stopped and peeked into the Literature room. Frown.

Hearing distinct a distinct no.
And someone not listening.

One. The door opened without a problem.
Two. Quickly she was in the room.
Three. The crop landed directly on his hand that held her teacher to the table, her hand closed around his collar and she pulled, knocking the boy to the floor.
Four. She stood between him and her staff, crop held lightly and ready to use.

"James, I do believe we ask around here. Not asking leads to terrible and very bad things indeed. Like getting knocked on your ass. You will apologize to Ms. Witch, you will clean up this room, and you will do so from your knees."

One hand reached behind her to undo Brit, while she kept her eyes on the errant little boy in front of her.

 

[hastobedone]

He lay sprawled on his back one hand clutching the other where the whip had caught it. A large red welt was already beginning to form. He lloked up at the pair of women now standing over him, the headmistress brandishing the crop and Miss Witch behind her now behind release from the restraint of his tie.

"I'm sorry. He said, weakly though he really meant it. "I was going to stop, I swear. He was looking over the headmistres' shoulder, focusing only on Miss Witch. "What you said about earning the right...I thought I could show you that I could fight my urges and control them. He looked down at the floor between his feet. "It was stupid of me, I see that now. My hand knows it now for sure. I just wanted to make you happy."

Looking now at the headmistress,

"Look, please don't expel me or anything. I'll clean the classroom, I'll clean all the classrooms. I just want to be rid of all of this." He pointed at his skull. "All of this.

 

[Britwitch]

She didn't hear the door open. She did however hear the crack of the crop as it struck his hand, felt the pressure on her - his mouth against her - falling away.

"James, I do believe we ask around here. Not asking leads to terrible and very bad things indeed. Like getting knocked on your ass. You will apologize to Ms. Witch, you will clean up this room, and you will do so from your knees."

She felt her wrists untied and made no short work of replacing her underwear where it belonged and smoothing her skirt back down.

"I'm sorry. I was going to stop, I swear. What you said about earning the right...I thought I could show you that I could fight my urges and control them. It was stupid of me, I see that now. My hand knows it now for sure. I just wanted to make you happy."

There was a pause before he apologised to Miss Vivi.

"Look, please don't expel me or anything. I'll clean the classroom, I'll clean all the classrooms. I just want to be rid of all of this. All of this.

"I think I can take it from here," She said softly to the Headmistress. "I like to think we all deserve a second chance. But if that one is tossed aside then I assure you he'll be visiting your office..." Her eyes shifted to him. "..and you really, really don't want to do that. Not on your first day."

Soon it was just the two of them.

"If you would be so kind as to put my chairs and tables back where they were then perhaps we can try again..."

She picked up her top from where it had been knocked onto the floor by the violent shove given to the furniture but didn't put it on. Not yet. She wanted to see how genuine his penance was. She moved to sit at her desk this time, a panic button only a matter of a movement away from being pressed should she need it.

Eyes watched him clean up the room, carefully. Mind trying to decide what to do next.
When he'd finished and was once again sat before her she asked again.

"Let's try to do this differently this time. When you got your urge just now, the desire to take and hold, tell me how you felt? What went through your mind? Tell me every part, leave nothing out. If you're not honest with me, I can't help."

 

[hastobedone]

"I think I can take it from here. I like to think we all deserve a second chance."

James looked up at Miss Witch with a grateful thanks in his eyes. He had badly overstepped the mark in his misguided demonstration and had thought he was done. But she had given him a second chance, a blank slate. No one had done that for him before. It was always one strike and you're out at his past schools. He decided there and then, sprawled out on his backside, hand throbbing with pain that he would no his best to change. Not only for himself, but also for Miss Witch. To thank her.

"If you would be so kind as to put my chairs and tables back where they were then perhaps we can try again..."

Several chairs and tables had been knocked over and scattered around the room, so he set about, on his hands and knees like the headmistress had asked, rearranging them into regimented lines, each precisely parallel to one another and facing the front of the classroom. When he was done, he returned to the chair he had been sitting in earlier, before he had lunged.

"Let's try to do this differently this time. When you got your urge just now, the desire to take and hold, tell me how you felt? What went through your mind? Tell me every part, leave nothing out. If you're not honest with me, I can't help."

And he was honest.

"When you pulled your top off Miss, your...your smile, it felt as if you were taunting me. A red mist kind of came over my eyes, like a curtain or something, and all I could see where these flashes of images." He looked away from her. "Images of us having sex on the desk. Me eating your pussy, things like that but then there was one of you laughing at me and I thought for sure it was real so I just snapped." He dropped his head into his arms and sobbed gently. I'm so sorry. I was going to stop I swear it. I just needed to show you that I could stop you from laughing at me."

 

[Britwitch]

"When you pulled your top off Miss, your...your smile, it felt as if you were taunting me. A red mist kind of came over my eyes, like a curtain or something, and all I could see where these flashes of images. Images of us having sex on the desk. Me eating your pussy, things like that but then there was one of you laughing at me and I thought for sure it was real so I just snapped."

She listened carefully, making no attempt to interrupt.

"I'm so sorry. I was going to stop I swear it. I just needed to show you that I could stop you from laughing at me."

When he stopped, the unexpected sound of tears coming from where his head lay cushioned by his arms, she let her hand move away from the alarm. Moving quietly she approached his desk, pulling her top back on so that by the time she pulled a chair across to sit beside him again she was once more fully clothed.

"Your apology is accepted." Her voice was calm and gentle. That soothing tone back once again. "And thank you, for your honesty. Please know I would never laugh at you, or any student, who was placing their trust in me. Anything you want to tell me, to share, will be kept in the strictest of confidence, I can assure you."

"I think perhaps I tried to rush you into dealing with things so I think an assignment is in order. An activity of sorts."

"Rather than focus on the negative, I'd like you to think for a moment on your achievements and the skills you possess that make you feel happy about yourself. Take as long as you need. But I would like you to give me five examples. Obviously more would be wonderful...but let's start with five..."

 

[hastobedone]

James looked up at the sound of a chair being moved towards him. Miss Witch, having put on her top again, was sat in front of him as if the past few minutes hadn't happened.

"Your apology is accepted." Her voice was nice and gentle and James felt himself calming with every word she spoke. He was surprised by how quickly she seemed to have composed herself and was treating him as if he was just a normal person. She should have been angry at him. Everyone else had been before. She was different and he pleased about that.

"I think perhaps I tried to rush you into dealing with things so I think an assignment is in order. An activity of sorts."

"Rather than focus on the negative, I'd like you to think for a moment on your achievements and the skills you possess that make you feel happy about yourself... let's start with five..."

He looked up at her, those icy eyes of hers, and decided that he was going to try his best for this woman. Someone who had given him a second chance at redeeming himself.

"Umm...I once won an 800m race at a school sports day...Everyone else was like 300m behind me when I finished." Quite why that popped into his head he had no idea.

"I'm quite a good speaker. I mean I've a way with words whether you can call that a skill."

"What's this? Three? I read 1984 during a load of English lessons instead of working when I was 12. Does that count?" He looked at her unsure whether that was positive for the act of reading a novel or negative for disobeying the teacher.

"Four, I'm quite attractive?" More of a question than a firm answer. He was starting to grasp at straws a bit now and still needed to come up with one more thing.

"I like playing the piano sometimes?"

 

[Britwitch]

"Does that count?"

"They all count, as long as they are things that make you feel happy, feel good about yourself." She smiled gently.

"I would like to talk about them in a little more depth, if that's alright with you?"

"One would assume the example you listed first would be the one that makes you the happiest. So, tell me, was this the first race you won? Did you win others afterwards?"

She leant closer.

"Close your eyes and picture yourself there, crossing the finish line and turning to discover just how impressive your lead truly was."

She gave him a moment or two to do just that, She leant a little closer still, speaking softly so as not to startle him.

"How do you feel? In that moment...in that instance of winning, of success...how do you feel?"

 

[hastobedone]

"I would like to talk about them in a little more depth, if that's alright with you?" James nodded his approval and listened to her instructions.

"I must have been...Thirteen I think. I had never been sporty, you know, the quiet one who just read and stuff. It kind of shocked everyone. shocked me. After that I kinda bulked up a bit, puberty hitting and all, so I kept running and kept winning."

Miss Witch then moved in closer and said in that soft voice of hers,

"Close your eyes and picture yourself there, crossing the finish line and turning to discover just how impressive your lead truly was."

James did as she said. He closed his eyes and began reliving the memory in his head. The starting line with the other kids, the wind blowing in his face, the bell at half way signalling one lap left. He remembered kicking at 600m in and accelerating around the bend, the spectators cheering him over the line.

"How do you feel? In that moment...in that instance of winning, of success...how do you feel?" Her voice had dropped to a barely audible whisper, a sigh on the wind in his memory.

"I was happy." He said simply, "It was something I had done on my own that no one could take away from me. It was mine."

 

[Britwitch]

"I must have been...Thirteen I think. I had never been sporty, you know, the quiet one who just read and stuff. It kind of shocked everyone. shocked me. After that I kinda bulked up a bit, puberty hitting and all, so I kept running and kept winning."

While he spoke she moved silently to retrieve a slim notepad from within a drawer in her desk.
Writing the date on the next available clean page, she also added his name in her smooth handwriting.
A bullet point. Then the word sport.
Something to remember. She would have to have a word with the sports department.

"I was happy. It was something I had done on my own that no one could take away from me. It was mine."

Another bullet point. Ownership.

"That makes perfect sense," She replied. "And as you continued to run, continued to win, did this feeling of happiness continue? Did your other victories mean as much as this first one did...?"

Tongue moistened lips as she listened, jotting down the odd word now and then as he answered.

"Moving onto your second example of happiness. A way with words. Obviously this is something I can relate to," There was a playful edge to her smile once more as her eyes flickered over the hundreds of books around the room. "Would say your skill is with the spoken, or the written? Or are you strong with both?"

"How did you discover this skill? Did someone tell you or did you realise it for yourself...?"

 

[hastobedone]

"And as you continued to run, continued to win, did this feeling of happiness continue? Did your other victories mean as much as this first one did...?"

Her voice was still that gentle whisper that washed over and through him, his eyes still firmly shut. The memories changed from that first win to when he was older, more angry at the world where winning became proving to the others he was better. That they were worthless compared to him.

"No they didn't." He whispered in reply, "They became more...more shallow, if you know what I mean. Less about the sport and more about superiority over others."

James wanted to stop now. Remembering how he felt after those early races was like jumping in a frozen lake for him. A shock to the system that jarred his world view. He realised that he hadn't been a nice person, that he had been arrogant and intimidating to the others. But Miss Witch pressed on with her questioning. He didn't want to carry on, scared of what truths he would be forced to face, but he owed her so he carried on.

"Would say your skill is with the spoken, or the written? Or are you strong with both?"

"I guess both. I mean I speak well and I just write like I would speak." He had remembered something else, "Somebody once said that my writing had a voice in it."