The Teacher's Pet

Chapter One.

Included should be a picture of Belle.

Monday.

It was a Monday the first time he noticed just how beautiful her eyes were. Dark, chocolate brown, sweet and intelligent behind the black framed glasses and mess of thick brown hair. True he'd seen her five days a week, every week for almost a year in school but it was a Monday when he first noticed her.

The bell had rang and everyone was hurrying into the classroom, trying to get there before the tardy sweep. She came in the door way with her bag flipped open, digging frantically inside while trying to also carry her books. One of the cheerleaders purposely bumped into her scattering her books, papers and most of her bag contents onto the floor.

The cheerleader, Missy Caswell, giggled and skipped to her seat. He glanced up from his desk in time to see the exchange, she sighed heavily, shoulders slumped. Then pushed a hand through her hair and dropped to her knees to begin picking up her things. Before he knew what was happening he was bending down to help her.

He grabbed the book nearest him and handed it to her, that was when she finally looked up at him and he realized how beautiful she was. Not by highschool standards, or popularity standards but in a quiet hidden kind of way.

"Thanks," She said softly.

She quickly gathered the rest of her belongings and scurried to her desk at the back of the class, where she always sat. Head down writing in her notebook, he heard some of the other kids call her a spaz but tried to stay uninvolved.

Clearing his throat he moved to behind his own desk and cleared his throat, with shaking hands he shuffled papers on the desk until the second bell.

"Okay, class if you turn into your books we'll begin."

The class fell respectively quiet as they turned in their books along with him, all except for Missy who raised her hand.

"Yes, Missy?" He asked, with a heavy sigh.

He tried not to have favorite students, tried to treat them all the same and with a small amount of disinterest but if he had favorites Missy was definitely not one of them. She was skinny, too skinny and blonde. Always with a different guy and always flirting with him, despite the school strict teacher/student rules.

"A bunch of us are having a party this weekend, do you want to come? It's at the lake."

"No, thanks Missy."

"Come on teach, it's like totally cool."

"like totally," A soft voice mimicked from the back row.

Missy turned to glare at the girl she'd almost knocked over and he stifled a laugh.

"I'm afraid I'll have to pass this time Missy."

"Maybe next time," Missy said.

It wasn't the first time she had asked him to a party and it wouldn't be the last. He'd heard through the grape vine that she had made a bet with her friends that she could get him to sleep with her, she was wrong but he seemed to be the only one who knew that.

He glanced around the room and picked one of the students nearest him to read.

"Bradley, will you begin reading?"

The young man began to read aloud and he began walking around the room, something he always did. Checking to be sure nobody was on there phones and listening to the students read, he was a strict teacher but almost all of his students respected him.

He reached her desk and glanced down, she was a full seven pages ahead of where Bradley was reading. He paused and she looked up at him.

"Miss Whitley, you're on the wrong page."

"I've....already read it twice."

"Twice? It was assigned just on Friday."

She blushed and looked back at her book, when he glanced up he noticed the other students were staring and Bradley had stopped reading.

"Continue," He said.

Bradley began reading again and sensing he was making her nervous he continued around the room. He caught two students texting and one listening to music before the day was done, three detentions were issued.

As the students filed out of the room Missy stopped by his desk, holding up the line.

"Are you sure you don't want to pick me up for that party?"

"I'm quite sure."

She shrugged, popped the gum she wasn't allowed to have and sauntered out. He glanced up just in time to see Miss Belle Whitley stand and grab her bag.

"Miss Whitley, will you stick around a minute?"

She looked up at him then collapsed back into her desk, he'd never had to hold her back before. She was one of his best students.

When the other teenagers were gone he motioned for her to approach the desk. She slung her bag over her shoulder and staring at the floor, timidly approached.

"Do you know why I asked you to stay behind?" He asked.

"No, sir."

"How did you read that book twice in a weekend?"

"I read it before the assignment, sir."

"And?"

"I like it. I wouldn't say it's my favorite of the classics but.....I like it."

"Most people consider Jane Eyre to be one of the best," He said.

"Oh! And it is, most definitely but I can't help prefer other books."

"Like what?" He asked, leaning back in his chair.

"The moonstone, Silas Marner, Pride and Prejudice. Wuthering Heights is my favorite."

"You've read all of those? On your own?"

"Several times."

"You're barely seventeen, it's rare to find a student so young with your knowledge of classics."

She blushed and looked away, he took the moment to study her. She was pretty in a certain way he couldn't quite place. He turned and opened his desk drawer, pulling out one of his favorite books.

"Have you ever read any books by The Marquis DeSade?" He asked.

"No sir."

"I didn't think so, most schools don't approve of him being taught, most people don't know of the existence but.....I find his works very well versed."

She reached for the book he held and he hesitated, the books were scandalous really. There was good reason why they were unheard of and not taught. They bordered on sadistic porn, written by a madman in the eighteen hundreds. Yet, something in her eyes told him she'd appreciate the words more than the stories they told.

"Nobody can know about this," He said as he handed her the book.

"They won't." She promised.

"Get along then, don't be late for math."

She scurried out of the room, clutching the book to her chest. She was gone all of three minutes when he began to feel as if he'd made a grave mistake.