Falling in Love With My Student

Chapter 20 - Aki's Sister

After that night, Aki avoided me for a while. I suspected that her father had spoken to her about what her sister had said at the table. Even in class I could tell that she was struggling to keep her eyes off me.

I waited a few days for this to pass, but seeing no changes in her behavior, I kept her in my room after one class and asked her what was up. After her usual stubbornness, trying to convince me that she is fine, she finally gave up on wearing a mask and looked down, sighing.

"It's my sister..." she confessed. "There's this... thing my dad can't find out about, but she's threatening to tell him."

As I thought... I smirked, knowing exactly what this 'thing' was. "And what is it that he can't find out?" Aki blushed, looking back down in silence. I took the opportunity to tease her. "I see... It's about what your sister said over at dinner, isn't it?" I took Aki's blushing and wide-eyed expression as a 'yes'. "So you've fallen in love with a boy, but your dad disapproves of dating..." I put on a thinking pose as Aki quickly became flustered.

"Th-that's not it!" her face flushed and she waved her hands in front of her face. What a terrible liar...

"Why is your sister threatening you with this?" I stopped teasing her and tried comforting her.

"Probably because she thinks it's fun to watch me suffer..." Aki pouted.

I chuckled, teasing her, "It sure is."

"Jeez..." She pouted before breaking into laughter. To this image, I smiled, seeing her go back to her happy self.

"Don't let it get to you." I smiled, patting her head.

Her serious expression returned, "It's not me I'm worried about." She said, determined. My eyes widened. "If my dad finds out, then someone else might get in big trouble." Aki's eyes then watered and she looked down.

I kneeled in front of her wiping her eyes gently. "You don't have to worry about anyone but yourself." I smiled at her. "I'm sure whoever you're thinking about knows exactly how gentle your heart is." I poked her flat chest. As soon as I saw the smile returning to her face, she immediately ran out the room, thanking me.

I sighed. I'm the one who should be worried about myself.

---

I wandered from aisle to aisle, wondering what I was missing at home. This is what I get for not making shopping lists...

Distracted, I soon found myself looking at a blonde, young woman and I soon recognized her slim figure and confident posture. I walked towards her, stopping my cart right before touching her.

"This is about me isn't it?" I frowned and her head lifted slowly to look at me. She acted as if she didn't know what I was talking about. "Why are you doing this to Aki? You know, she's been acting really down and gloomy lately, and you know you caused this."

"And why would you care about 'just another one of your students'?" she smirked at me, questioning my feelings for Aki. As if I could answer that, I don't even understand them myself.

"I care about all of my students." I frowned at her, "So why don't you care about your sister?"

She sniggered. "Don't say that I don't care about her. I've always been the only one there for her." I didn't know what she meant but I ignored it, waiting for her to explain herself. "Then if you know she likes you, what are you going to do about it? If you think about it, you're the only one who is really hurting her feelings."

I froze. She's right. But still...

"I'm her teacher." I said strictly. "There's nothing I can do that won't make her cry."

"She's crying already!" She interrupted me. "Night after night, I get sick of listening to her sobs. I want to help. I wish I could help. I've always wanted to be able to be the older sister that gives her baby sister advice on what to wear, teach her how to put on make-up, and help her get her crush's attention. My lips pursed and somehow I was affected by her words.

"But..." she continued. "We are forbidden from dating or from even thinking about boys. According to our dad it's all just 'a big distraction from success'." She mimicked his voice, mocking him disrespectfully. "He doesn't even take our feelings into consideration."

My eyes widened. I never thought he was this harsh. "So why don't you just go against him?"

"Because I know what he's capable of!" as she yelled, we looked around, noticing people staring at us. I paid for our things and we both left the grocery store, sitting outside at a bench.

"For me, it happened in middle school." she looked down, as if remembering a painful memory. "I fell in love with a boy my age and we started dating. We were able to keep it a secret for a while, but eventually Dad found out. I thought all he would was force us to keep our distance. But, after he discovered this, I never saw the boy again. I found out all about it afterwards. He has power in the school, you know. Dad was able to kick the boy out, forcing his family to find another home in a different town so he could attend another school." I frowned upon listening to her. "He can easily get you fired. Or worst... He can make it so you'll never be able to teach again at any other school, you know. Even if it is only a suspicion."

Why does everything point at my unemployment?

"Then, what if one of you dates an unemployed man?"

She smirked. "Would you really go that far for Aki?"

I scowled at her playfully, "I never admitted to liking her."

She then laughed as if she didn't believe in me, annoying me. "He'd probably find some other way like bribery or something."

"What if he doesn't take it?" I insisted.

"You sure ask a lot of questions for someone who doesn't like my sister." She kept at it before sighing and smiling to herself, "She is one lucky girl. Too bad she's too stupid to see it herself." My eyes widened at her comment and they followed her as she sprung up to her feet, stretching her arms. "Anyways, it's not like I will actually tell him about you. I'm just trying to make her forget about you. That girl deserves more than to be happy."