4
Kahoot!’ing
“Be present and be seen,” I recite to myself.
It’s a motto every principal should live by, according to my mentor and Principals Qualifications Program instructor, Balraj Ghuman—who is also one of the most respected and well-liked administrators on the Upper Canada District School Board. It was good—no, great—advice, as I quickly learned last year during my first year as principal at Commonwealth Elementary school in Brockville. He said people are less likely to slack off when they know you might pop in at anytime. He’d often quote, “When the cat’s away, the children will play,” referring to the students—and some teachers—who would definitely take advantage when we were away for meetings, or caught up in the office for the day. It was advice which turned out to be true, considering the shit show I dealt with last year, during my first assignment: between three teachers failing their teacher appraisals due to their assumptions that—being the new guy—I’d let things slide; and staff posting out, taking jobs elsewhere because they didn’t like the expectations I’d had, again assuming I wouldn’t have any high ones while I was finding my footing in my new role. Unfortunately for them, they were very wrong. I might be young, but I’m driven and always set high standards for myself, my students, and now, my staff.
Wandering upstairs again during one of the many laps I do around the school each day, I know instinctively where my feet are taking me, even though the last thing I need is gossip to start where Eastlyn and I are concerned. Especially since I’ve already “popped in” four times this week and it’s only Wednesday. I guess you could say I’m really taking the whole notion of being present and being seen at face value. Especially where she’s concerned.
Fighting my one-track libido, my brain finally catches up. Instead of heading directly to her room, I manage to stop at a few other classrooms along the way—where I chat with the teachers, check in with a few high fliers, and scope out the projects a couple of Grade Seven and Eight classes have been working on for the science fair coming up next month in December.
But soon enough, I reach my intended destination. Room 212, Ms. E. Hatfield, the placard on the door reads. Pausing in front of the closed door, I take a deep breath, ensuring my self-control is in place.
It’s been getting harder and harder to see her but not touch her. I’ve been back in Guelph for almost five months, during which time I’ve shown up unexpectedly in places I knew she’d be, thanks to Keaton. We’ve spent some one-on-one time together, did the whole Halloween Haunt thing with Keaton and Kami, and had a few dinners at her parents’ house where I’ve pushed my luck, teasing her with my body’s proximity. Each minute of our time together gives me the opportunity to further plant myself into her mind, at least I hope I am, anyway, seeing as she’s all I think about. We flirt, share a few wayward touches, talk, and best of all, laugh. I’m fairly confident that by now we’re both feeling the same way—so fucking itchy, itching for the next step—me buried balls deep inside her. I’m not sure how much longer I can keep my cock sated with my own fucking hand, when what we both want is right in front of us, so close.
“Jesus, get a grip, you’re at work,” I scold, looking down the hallway before adjusting myself. Unbeknownst to her, I’ve been biding my time, waiting for the perfect moment to strike and let my intentions and feelings finally be known. But I have a few more tricks up my sleeve before I pounce and persuade her to come clean, to admit to exactly what she wants.
Me.
“Yes! Rachel, thank goodness! We’re in second place now, Rach!”
“What, what, the Nerd Herd in effect, yo! We got time to come back.”
“Denis, how didn’t we know that?”
I hear yelling and a bunch of whoopses and “ohhh’s” followed by a lot of laughter coming from inside Eastlyn’s classroom, breaking me from my thoughts.
Opening the door and stepping in, I’m overwhelmed by the sight and sounds of twenty-six Grade Eight students all huddled in teams, playing some sort of quiz game. I see a question and four possible answers, along with a timer set for one hundred-and-twenty seconds, projected onto the screen at the front of the room.
“Ooooohh, Team Braniacs takes the lead away from Team Clever!” I hear her voice call, and my eyes instantly hone in on Eastlyn where she’s standing at the back of the room, manning the game on the tech cart.
“All right, here we go: Question Eight. Again, you’ll have one hundred-and-twenty seconds to lock in your answers,” she says, still not looking my way.
Going unnoticed, I walk by the first two groups, listening to their discussions as they try to answer the question, “In the Prairies, the largest groups of people were…”, with the choices for the right answer being either:
Diamond: Métis
Triangle: Fur-trader Métis
Circle: First Nations fur traders
Square: First Nations and Métis
“Hey, it’s Mr. Graves!” Benny calls out, noticing me when I approach his team. “What should we pick?” he asks, grinning.
“We got this. Diamond,” Lacey says confidently.
“Hi, guys. Looks like you’re having fun,” I observe.
“Lots, sir. Ms. Hatfield has us addicted to this game,” Silvia tells me, and then the young man sitting next to her named Ivan chimes in.
“No, Lace. It’s square,” he counters, then explains how he knows and, in the end, convinces the team to pick square.
“Good job, guys.” I clasp Ivan’s shoulder, going to check on the next group.
Feeling Eastlyn’s eyes on me, I look up. Sure enough, I find the real target of this visit checking me out. I mouth “Hey,” and give her my best dimpled smile, the one I know for a fact makes her putty in my hands. You can learn a lot from watching and observing someone over the years, and I’ve spent a lot of time with my eyes trained on her, even if I wasn’t blatant about it. I know what Ms. Hatfield likes, and my dimple is one of those things.
“What the heck is this?” I ask, moving beside her after having watched a few more questions being played. I laugh, seeing how excited the students are, and also feel a sense of pride in Eastlyn’s ability to make learning fun, which is confirmed when I hear how much the kids know about Canada’s history with each passing question.
“It’s called Kahoot! We’re Kahoot!’ing!” She turns her face to mine, her green eyes sparkling with glee as she gives me a smile that steals my breath before turning away, leaving me to stare at her stunning profile. My eyes make a leisurely trek from the tip of her button nose down to her full chest. I feel myself salivating as my gaze continues to drop lower, my breath hitching when my eyes land on her plump ass, before lingering on those damn fine, toned legs. Ones I want pinning my head tightly in place while I feast on her pussy.
“‘Kahoot!’ing?” I repeat, her response finally registering after the silent eye-fuck I just performed. She gives me the “one sec” finger, completely unaware of my onslaught.
“Okay, teams. Let’s see who got that one,” she says, and taps her iPad. “Nice job, Team Vader. Way to make a comeback.”
“Thanks to Ivan!” Silvia whoops, as her team slides into second.
“All right, next question coming at you in 3, 2, 1…” Eastlyn taps the “Next” button and a new question appears.
“This is pretty cool, East,” I whisper, shifting to eat up some of the physical space my original positioning had left, so we now stand side by side.
“Yeah, they love it. And it’s a great way to review key concepts.”
“I can tell. Do all the classes play this?” I ask, curious.
“I know Kami’s does, not sure about the others. Last question in this round, guys,” she calls, pulling up another question.
“Well, if they don’t, maybe you two could share this at our next staff meeting? From what I’ve seen, it’s great,” I say, dipping my eyes down to her bee-stung lips as her gaze meets mine again.
“Sure,” she says, sounding a little breathy, before turning her head back to the screen at the sound of the timer. Each team keys their answers into their iPads, and Eastlyn makes a quick calculation.
“And that’s game. Congrats to Team Brainiacs! Nice job, everyone,” she says, clapping along with the students.
“Hey, Mr. Graves?” Bianca, a member of the winning Brainiacs, calls.
“Yes, Bianca.”
“Think you can beat us in a round?” she asks, a hint of challenge in her voice. The class goes crazy, yelling “yesss” and telling me how I have to try it, how it’s so much fun.
Laughing, I tell her it depends on the subject.
“Next up is a math review. Geometry,” Eastlyn says, cocking her head, her brow raised in a silent challenge of her own, waiting to see if I’ll be a willing participant.
“You guys are on.” I nod.
“Okay, teams.” She taps her iPad again. “Enter the code, and your team info.”
Leaning in close, I ask, “What the hell do I do here?” causing her to tip her head back and laugh out loud. Seeing her neck exposed, all I can think about is how good she probably tastes and smells, and what I wouldn’t give to touch her right now, just so I could find out how sweet she really fucking is.
“Grab an iPad,” she says, nodding to the pile on the other side of her desk. “Click the Kahoot! app, enter the game code, then choose a team name. It’s that easy,” she instructs.
“I can do that,” I smirk, moving behind her to get to her other side for the iPad. Ensuring no one is looking at us, I move my hand down and brush it slowly across her ass where it’s all snug and looking fine, nestled in a tight black pencil skirt. As I shift past her, I hear her sharp intake of breath, exactly the reaction I was hoping for.
“Coy,” she whispers.
“Sorry. Accident.” I clear my throat and grab the device before once again slipping behind her. This time I allow my hardness to brush up against her, as my free hand grips her waist, giving it a gentle squeeze. Thankfully, the class is too busy chit-chatting to hear their teacher let out a soft sigh, reacting to having my hands on her.
Fuck, baby.
“Co—Mr. Gr—Graves. Are you ready?” she stutters, and I try to hide my grin.
“More than,” I smile, knowing I’ve just made her affect on me clear. Her voice wavers, and if looks could kill, the one she’s giving me would definitely slay.
“Teams ready?” she perks up, giving her head a little shake, and I chuckle.
“Yes!” they call in unison.
“Let’s Kahoot!” she says, starting the round. She picks up her iPad, and moves to the opposite side of the class to facilitate the game—away from me.
I spend the next twenty minutes Kahoot!’ing and laughing with her from across the room, as well as enjoying the students, all the while discreetly trying to inch my way closer to where she stands but having no luck as she’s on to me. I may not have had any luck in getting near her again, but as Silvia told me, I “schooled” them in the Geometry Kahoot! And know I’m a welcome addition to join in a game anytime. This not only gives me a new excuse to visit, but I’m now an official technology-in-the-classroom convert. I plan to use the topic to engage Ms. Hatfield in many conversations where she can share her passion with me.
Back in my office after winning the game, it occurs to me just how much we affect each other. Be it talking to one another in a group, one-on-one, or just silently sharing the same air, it all leads to the same familiar feeling of want. And this afternoon, my want for her went straight through the roof.