Flabbergasted and too speechless to ask any more questions, Rachel slowly sat down needing some air. What the hell happened? Why would he do something so stupid?
“I was thinking about moving your room anyway until the construction of the school is over with,” Austin said. “I think you’d be safer-“
She cut him off “I’m fine. I’m okay up here and I like this room, Austin. Please don’t move me. My students and I can practice without disturbing other classes.” After a moment of silence, she asked, “What will happen to him?”
“I’ve spoken to his probation officer and he is thinking of having him to the detention center.”
Speaking in Derrick’s defense, she said, “But having sex with an older woman doesn’t mean he broke his probation. It’s not as if he was the adult in this.”
“Only the temptation,” Austin murmured in disgust.
“Is that why you transferred him? You think I feel something for him?”
“You’re young. There’s too much of a temptation,” Austin said.
Trying to bring some humor to this situation, she asked, “Do you really think if I haven’t cheated on my husband with you, what makes you think I’d risk my marriage and my job with a student?”
Austin chuckled at her attempt at levity in this whole situation. “What do you want me to do with this student, Rachel?”
Knowing she had reached him and he was giving her the upper hand in this situation, she said, “Why don’t you call that probation officer back and tell him the school can handle this matter just fine. Keep Derrick where he is and just warn him that any more attempts to seduce any other staff member – if he is so inclined to - will be terms to get him out of here. He’ll get the message and be a good little boy until we can get him out of here.” Rachel had a feeling that Austin was waiting for her to say to put Derrick back in her class, but she wasn’t going to, although she was still perplexed at how Laura had come up with that accusation that was so close to the truth.
Austin nodded and left the room, giving her time to gather herself. It was going to be a long day.
* * *
She stayed late to finish grading papers and by the time she choose to leave the place was pretty much shut down, except for the night janitor who offered to walk her to the car. Rachel told him she would be find and gathered her bags and walked through the parking lot alone with her ears opened for any trouble.
As she was placing her bags in the back of her car, a hand covered her mouth and a body pressed behind her.
“Did you miss me?” a deep voice asked behind her.
She turned around and looked up into Derrick’s deep brown eyes of amusement. Desperately, she fought the urge to hug him and hit him at the same time. Holding her hands in front of her this prevented him from pressing any closer.
“What happened, Derrick? What is this business about you and Laura?”
He smirked. “You sound jealous.”
Rachel didn’t want to play games with him. “It’s too late to even stand here and try to go on about this, Derrick. You warned me there were sacrifices to make to ge twhat you want. I still don’t understand? Having sex with Laura gained you what?”
Derrick became serious. “All of that gained me my grades that I rightfully earned. I agreed to meet her for an encounter that she’d been hounding me about doing. In return for meeting her she said she would make sure the principal and other school officials could arrange for me to retake the GED. She also said if I met her, she would make sure my real grades were discovered that Davish was trying to hide.” He smiled triumphantly. “I then arranged with some friends to Davish up to his office at the same time of our encounter once I was assured she did what I wanted her to do.” He pulled out a paper from Austin and gave it to her. “Not only was I given an apology by those teachers who didn’t give me my rightful grades, but that principal said to me personally that if I keep my grades up by March, not only will I be able to retake the GED but I’ll get a recommendation from him. That’s the sacrifice I made,” he said vehemently.
“Then you’re a fool to make such a stupid sacrifice,” she said, showing her upset. “She took the credit for all that?”
“Yes, she made it all happened so that I would let her do that to me.”
Rachel should have known that Laura would try something like that, but she would have never guessed that it would get to the point of blackmailing Derrick for sex. Snorting, she said, “That credit wasn’t hers to take, Derrick! I did all that work!” She sobbed feeling grievous from the long stressful day and now this.
He tenderly drew her into his arms despite her weak effort to push him away. Soon Rachel gave in and leaned into his broad shoulder and cried.
Softly, he said, “I didn’t know. I’m sorry.”
“You could ... have just asked if you needed that kind of help, Derrick,” she said through her tears.
“I didn’t think anyone wanted to help me like that. I didn’t think you’d go that far to jeopardize your job with Davish for me and it wasn’t my right to ask or make you try. I mean you didn’t want to be with me so I figured you wouldn’t do something like that.”
“Being your lover is very different from being your teacher and friend. I like you very much as a student and a friend, Derrick,” she admitted.
Derrick sighed feeling terrible. “I wasn’t sure. I’m not use to being liked without strings attached. You forgive me, Rachel. I’m young, remember? I’m entitled to make stupid mistakes.”
Rachel knew he was only trying to make her feel better. “Don’t play that young card to your advantage now,” she said wiping her eyes, using the back of her hands. “I was born at night, not last night.”
A hoot of laughter escaped him. “Does that mean you forgive me?”
“No, Derrick, that’s going to take some time because I shouldn’t be angry at you in the first place.”
“There’s nothing wrong with what you feel towards me, Rachel.” That serious light came to his eyes again.
“Please don’t go there, Derrick.” Gently, she pushed away from him and he released her reluctantly. “I’ll see you tomorrow, right?”
“How? I’m not in your class and I’m prohibited from stepping foot on the third floor.” There was a strange look in his eyes and she had a feeling he wasn’t scared of Austin’s warning; Derrick just wouldn’t get caught.
“Because I left word with your new homeroom teacher to allow you to come to the auditorium once a week at the end of the day to join us for practice.” She got in her car and rolled down her window to continue to speak to him, while she warmed up her engine. “The principal approved because he understood that we couldn’t possibly put on a performance without our writer and director.”
Derrick raised a curious brow. “And you? Do you need me, Rachel?”
As much as she wanted to admit it, she wouldn’t. Instead, she asked him, “Why would Laura guess so close to what was really going on, Derrick?”
He flushed embarrassed and admitted. “I made a mistake when I was with her.”
“What mistake did you make?” she asked confused.
“I called out your name in the heat of the moment.”
Rachel blushed at that admission, but forced herself not to show it that much.
“Are you avoiding my question?” he asked, leaning in the window.
“Yes, Derrick, I am. Goodnight.”
He moved back so that she could drive away.
Teach Me To Love - Chapter 3 Part 3 (c) 2005 Sylvia Hubbard
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