CHAPTER TWO
RING.
Liam sat up in his desk with a start. He must have slept through the last half of world history. Although honestly, he might as well of been asleep through the first half of class too because he couldn’t stop thinking about what happened at lunch today. The way the Ms. Cole had slammed him up against the lockers. The way she ordered him around. And that final look she gave him when she said, “Call me Caroline.” Shivers went down his spine. What did she want with him? What was this experimental program that she pitched to the principal? What had he signed himself up for?
Liam grabbed his pack and followed the herd of students bursting out into the hallways. They gabbed and squealed about their weekend plans. Liam grabbed a crumpled up piece of paper out of his pocket. It read ROOM 301. Caroline’s classroom was literally in the farthest corner of the building. He sighed knowing he’d have to trudge up the stairs again.
He didn’t even have her as an English teacher – she taught honors English- something that Liam couldn’t get in in a million years. He’d overheard students saying that she was a hard ass so he was interested in seeing what she’d be like as a mentor. What would this be like, he wondered as he climbed the stairs.
When he finally reached her classroom, he paused standing in front of the door. For some reason, Liam had a feeling in his gut that he was standing on the threshold of huge decision. His decision about whether or not he was going to enter this room would be a turning point in his life. He started to turn away from the door. While he was grateful for the opportunity Caroline had given him, he worried that he was going to mess it up. Maybe it would be better if he didn’t even try at all. He should just take his expulsion. It was what he deserved. He didn’t deserve this second chance being granted to him. He started to walk away from the door and towards the stairs.
“Liam,” a loud voice rang from inside the classroom.
Liam turned around surprised. How did Caroline know he was there? Something about her voice pulled him back to the door. Liam slowly twisted the knob and entered.
He did a double take at the room. All the desks had been pushed to the sides of the classroom and only one single desk sat alone in the middle of the room. He scanned the room for Caroline and saw her sitting at her desk, her back turned to him.
“You’re late.” Caroline voice cut across the room. Strong, sure, emotionless.
Liam was caught off guard. He looked at his watch, he was only two minutes late. That was on time for him as he usually showed up to class, 15 – 20 minute late. “I’m only like two minutes late.”
“Sit.” Caroline still hadn’t turned around.
Liam was totally confused and slightly weirded out. He slowly walked over to the desk in the middle of the room.
“Sit,” she barked again.
Something in her voice frightened Liam and he immediately pulled out the chair and sat in it.
Caroline turned around in her chair.
Liam watched as her eyes inspected him.
“Good enough…” Her voice trailed off but her eyes remained on him.
He felt them survey his slouchy posture and wide spread legs,
“For now,” she murmured to herself as she pulled a stuffed manila folder out of her thin, black leather briefcase. She dropped it on her desk with a heavy thud “This is your school file Liam.” Caroline opened it up and began leafing through it. “11 unexcused absences, 23 tardies, 9 detentions and 2 suspensions in your four years here.”
Liam squirmed in his seat. He felt embarrassed by the way she listed off his all of his misdeeds. “That’s all?” he quipped. Hoping to escape his embarrassment by hiding behind his humor. He knew as soon as the smart-ass remark came out of his mouth that he was done for.
Caroline calmly stood up and walked to the door. She opened it and stood very still for a moment. “Liam what I am offering you is a chance to reform yourself, but I want to let you know that you don’t have to be here. You can leave at any time; just know that I will no longer responsible for you. So if you want to go then go.”
Liam sat up in his chair. He didn’t want to go. He wanted to stay. He couldn’t put his finger on why exactly, but he trusted Caroline. He liked her strength and her kindness and he didn’t want to toss away her generous offer to mentor him. He knew he had to get his ego in check and just accept the fact that he was going to probably be embarrassed and uncomfortable. “I want to stay.”
“If you stay, you have to follow all of my rules, every single one of them. You have to trust me completely. And you have to give up all control and be submissive to me.”
“Yes, I agree to those terms.” As soon as Liam said those words, he felt as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. For so long, he had felt as if he’d been responsible for everything. For all of his fuck ups, for ruining his own life and now—he felt freedom. Caroline was now in charge of him and would look out for him. For once, he didn’t have think about if what he was doing was right or wrong. All he had to do was follow Caroline’s orders.
“I’m glad to hear that.” Caroline closed the door…then locked it. “Your lessons will begin now.” She pulled a small shade down blocking the small window into her classroom. “At the end of every school week you will come to my house to have your lesson.” She slowly walked past Liam’s desk and put a small piece of paper down on the wood.
He picked up and saw that typed on it was a neatly written address: 2367 Yorkshire Street.
“You will arrive promptly at 6pm. All lessons and orders are for your good. At no time do I mean you any malice. I care for you greatly and want to see you succeed. However, I believe that extreme methods are necessary for your success Liam, but they are worth it because you have great potential.” Caroline sat back down at her chair.
Liam, although he never would admit it, was touched. No one had ever taken this much interest in him or thought he had any potential. Most adults it felt like were just happy to get rid of him.
“Our first official lesson will start two hours from now. Lessons will be difficult, strenuous. They will break you down, but only so that you can rebuild yourself stronger. I thought though, that we would start off here with a basic introductory lesson, so you will know what to expect before we truly begin.” She paused and her gaze seared into Liam’s eyes.
He suddenly realized that he was already sitting up straighter and that his mind hadn’t wandered once since Caroline had closed the door.
“We’re first going to test your obedience. Without it, I won’t be able to teach any of my other lessons.”
“Sounds easy enough.”
“Quiet. Only speak when asked a direct question.” Caroline stood up. “Your first lesson is to keep your hands on the desk.”
Liam stifled a laugh. If this was the kind of quizzes, he was going to get from Caroline’s tutoring he was going to pass with flying colors. He placed his two hands flat on the desk and watched as Caroline opened a drawer and pulled out a wooden ruler. “What’s that for?” he asked slightly confused.
Caroline slowly walked over to Liam’s desk, stood next to him and paused. She then slapped his right hand with the ruler.
“Ow!” Liam lifted up his hand trying to shake off the stinging pain. “What the fuck was that for?”
“You spoke without being spoken to. So I punished you.”
“Jesus.” Liam shook out his hand some more and then placed back on the desk.
As soon as he placed his hand back on the desk, Caroline hit it again.
“Come on!” Liam hissed as he rubbed his hands “What was that for?”
“You were disobedient. You took your hands off the desk.”
He stared at his two hands now that were off the desk. He realized that as soon as he put them back on the desk that she would hit them both immediately.
“Remember Liam, you can leave at any time.”
Liam looked Caroline directly in her icy blue eyes and smiled as he put his hands back on the desk.
A trace of a smile pulled at the corner of Caroline’s mouth.
He could tell that he had satisfied her with his obedience. He liked that. He liked to make her smile. She hit his hands with the ruler again. This time however, Liam did not remove them. He took the pain in.
“Good boy, Liam. You’re learning. When you are obedient, you earn a reward from me.”
Liam watched in peak interest as Caroline walked in front of his desk. She put her hands on the desk, on either side of his own, and slowly leaned towards Liam, her cool blue eyes gazing directly into his. Her scent hit him, lilies and lavender. He breathed in her scent and felt his pulse quicken. He couldn’t believe what was happening. His cheeks grew warm as her face drew closer to his. She slowly parted her full pink lips and softly pressed them into his. He felt his stomach drop. His skin tightened all across his body. Her lips parted further and she pushed in for an even deeper kiss. His body started to melt. She was intoxicating with the way she moved her mouth over his, sucking on his lips, and teasing him with her soft sweet tongue. Liam had to touch her, to feel her, grab her, bring her closer to him. He reached up and grabbed Caroline’s face.
She immediately pulled back leaving Liam dizzy, flushed, and confused. His mouth was swollen with kisses and he still tasted the sweetness of her. He started to protest but she silenced him with a steely glance.
“Hands on the table, Liam.”
Liam sulkily put his hands on the table.
She hit them. Hard. Caroline slowly walked back to her desk.
Liam couldn’t stop thinking about the way that her hips moved under that form fitting grey dress. He had a sudden urge to fuck the rules all together and grab Caroline and kiss her senseless. He wanted to see her naked, he wanted to worship her body, to make love to her, but he knew the only way he could do that was by following her lessons and her rules.
Caroline glanced at the clock. “You’re teachable, Liam. Be at the address I gave you at 6pm sharp for your real lesson. Don’t be late.”
A shiver ran down Liam’s spine. This classroom exercise was just the beginning. Who knew what he was getting into with Caroline? All he knew was that he was frightened, and in a twisted way… he liked it.
* * * *
Three weeks later…
Liam’s pencil raced across the page, as he tried to keep up with Mr. Lambert’s lecture. They were studying imaginary numbers and Liam felt like he generally grasped the concept. His body felt relaxed, alert and focused. Ever since he started his sessions with Caroline, Liam felt less stressed – his thoughts no longer whirred in his mind like they used to. His constant physical exertion with Caroline caused him to be significantly less restless. Caroline had ordered him to try to make the football team and he never believed he would even consider doing such a thing, but he intended to when the try outs happened.
Focusing in class had become easier and he had noticed for the first time in his life that his grades had been steadily improving. Because he was able to listen in class, he understood more what was going on and was even enjoying some of his classes.
“Alright class, it’s everybody’s favorite time of the day. Time for you all to get your Chapter 6 tests back.”
The class groaned in response.
However, Liam for the first time, felt a flicker of excitement in his chest. He thought he did well on this past test, and whenever Liam got an A on an exam Caroline gave him a special reward during their sessions. He thought wistfully back to the last time he got an A on his biology quiz.
“Liam. I called your name,” Mr. Lambert said testily. “Come up and get your test.” Mr. Lambert waved it in the air.
Liam walked to the front of the class quickly.
“Good job Mr. Stone,” Mr. Lambert said with an edge in his voice. “Never in my ten years of teaching have I seen such a rapid improvement,” he muttered almost threateningly.
Liam looked at him warily and then down at his test. A big red A was written on the top of it. He suppressed a grin and walked back to his desk.
The bell rang and Mr. Lambert quickly handed out the rest of the tests. “Liam, I need to see you after class, he announced.”
The students all filed out and Liam made his way up to the teacher’s desk.
“Liam, have to ask. What has caused this sudden improvement in your work? I'll be honest, at first I thought that you must be cheating, but from your homework and participation in class it’s obvious that you’re putting in the work and understanding the concepts. So what is it? What is causing this new surge of motivation?” Mr. Lambert questioned. Leaning in towards him, perhaps to intimidate him into telling the truth.
But Liam had nothing to hide…well almost nothing, Liam thought. “I am the guinea pig for Ms. Cole’s new at risk students program. I started a couple months ago and it has really helped me focus, show me the value of obedience, and motivate me to put the work in.” He watched as none of the suspicion left Mr. Lambert’s face. If anything, Liam’s answer seemed to ignite even more curiosity into Mr. Lambert.
“Principal Peters mentioned that Ms. Cole’s was developing a program for at risk students, but when I talked to Ms. Cole about it she was vague on the details. I was wondering if maybe you’d be willing to enlighten me on some of them.”
A glint showed in Mr. Lambert’s eyes that unsettled Liam. The second bell rang. “I’m going to be late to my next class Mr. Lambert, I had better get going.” Liam lied, his next class was lunch, but Mr. Lambert’s mistrust and digging was unsettling Liam. He was scared what would happen if Mr. Lambert got too close to the truth. Caroline would most surely lose her job and Liam would probably once and for all be expelled. Even though everything was consensual and Liam was 18, it didn’t look good.
“I’ll write you a pass, stay Liam, tell me more about this program. I think that it could be beneficial for other students as well.”
Liam slowly started to walk away from Mr. Lambert, but he continued to push Liam for answers.
“Why are you and Caroline denying other students the kind of success that you are clearly demonstrating? Is there something unethical going on in the program Liam?”
Liam had made his way to the door and found himself tongue tied. All he could do was shake his head no and slip out the door.
He’d barely taken two steps when he ran face first into Nicki Brink, a pretty red head who was on the cheer team and also in Mr. Lambert’s class.
“Liam, hi!” Nicki said as she twisted one of her long glossy strands of red hair nervously.
She looked him directly in the eye and then looked straight down at her feet. “I was just wondering if you’d like to go to prom with me. I’m a senior and it’s my last year and I’d heard you hadn’t asked anyone yet, and I think that we’d have a really great time together.” Nicki’s sentences rushed out of her mouth and took Liam completely by surprise. Nicki for sure was one of the most beautiful girls in the school. She had porcelain skin and the largest green eyes Liam had ever seen, but she was also notoriously shy. Liam could only imagine the kind of courage it took for her to ask him to prom. Liam watched as she slowly raised her bright green eyes to his. They flitted nervously across his face. She bit her lower pink lip and Liam felt his stomach drop with desire. She was so beautiful and innocent. He knew he shouldn’t say yes. One of Caroline’s rules for the program was that Liam must not date or have sexual relations with anyone.
“Don’t feel like you have to say yes. I just thought that it might be nice to go together,” she mumbled nervously.
“I’d love to.” It had slipped out and Liam instantly regretted it saying it, even as a grin of pleasure spread across Nicki’s face.
“Great! I’ll text you about the details soon. I can’t wait. I promise you’ll have a great time Liam.” Nicki grabbed his arm and then walk-ran away.
Liam groaned, he was going to get into so much trouble for this.