David had taken music as a joke. It wasn't particularly hard and he was instrumentally gifted – that is, he picked up most instruments easily. It had been a fill in subject. A subject to go where there was no subject. He didn't pay attention in class and crammed before the exams. He didn't practise his nominated instrument (the saxophone) and he learned his pieces the night before. And he still managed an A. David had been doing music for two years. He had had two music teachers and he wouldn't have been able to tell you their names, their hair colours or even if they were white or black. He just didn't care.
But in his senior year of high school, something changed. David began to pay attention. Every day he'd go to class and he'd listen and watch. He wouldn't take notes. He wouldn't look in his textbook, or focus when he was asked to play an instrument. He sat there, watching and listening to the teacher. There was a reason too.
First day of class, David had started off as he usually would. He was five minutes late to class, and was greatly surprised to see he wasn't the last one to arrive. The teacher had yet to show. He made his way to his seat up the back and sat down. He grabbed his Ipod, laid back and began listening to music. He closed his eyes and tried to get some sleep.
Moments later he was woken up, his earphones removed painfully from his ears. He looked up to see a young woman looking down at him. She didn't seem angry, but she looked mildly annoyed. 'Not in this class. It may be music but we won't be listening to rap or pop. Put it away so we can begin.' She said, turning around and walking back to the front of the class.
David responded as he usually did to this sort of statement. He lay back, putting his headphones back in, and turned the volume up louder. He shut his eyes again, but not five seconds later, the music in his headphones ceased. David looked up again to see the teacher standing over him, but this time she was holding his Ipod. 'No one passes my class without attending and paying attention.' She walked back to the front of the class and placed the Ipod on the desk. 'For those of you that weren't listening, my name is Ms. Fletcher. I'm replacing Mr.Rudland for the year. Are there any questions before we begin?' She asked, avoiding David's murderous stare.
'Yeah. I have one.' David said, placing his hand nonchalantly in the air.
'Yes, Mr.Roberts?' she replied, looking directly at him.
'Who's Mr.Rudland?' he asked, as the class burst into laughter.
'Mr. Rudland was last year's music teacher David. Just so we are clear and you don't have to ask, I am this year's music teacher and my name is Ms.Fletcher.' she said with confidence. 'Any other questions David?'
'Just one, Ms.Fletcher.' He replied, impressed by her calm response but not making it visibly known. 'Can I have my Ipod back?' The class laughed again.
'No, Mr Roberts, you may not and you will get it back once you have demonstrated to me a will to learn in this class. Now, I believe last year you completed your work on Beethov – '
It was strange to David. A teacher, especially a new one, never ever impressed him. But the confidence she had was undeniably impressive, especially considering her age. She was young, about 25, but she had an aura around her that seemed to emanate confidence. Impressed or not, David was still pissed about losing his Ipod on the first day of class and decided the best way to let her know was to do what he usual did. Fuck around.
And so he did. For the first few weeks, David did everything in his power to ignore her. He didn't copy notes, he brought in footballs, tennis balls and he played Pokemon on Game Boy. He even went the extra yard to almost deliberately annoy her. Every time he'd step too far out of line she'd pull him back in. She didn't do it angrily. Never once lost her temper. And soon David began to behave himself. Not because she was winning, but because he was impressed. And not just with her calm and collected style.
David began to notice her. Not like before though. David began to really notice her. He noticed the clothes she was wearing. He noticed the curves of her body. He noticed the colour of her eyes and the way her hair fell across her face. He noticed the small button nose, her soft, supple skin and the shape of her moist lips. Yes, Ms.Fletcher had David's attention, but he wasn't learning music.
She was short, around 5'4, with blondish hair that feel just below her shoulders. She was relatively thin, with small breasts and slightly larger hips. Every day she would wear tight jeans and a tank top to perfectly compliment her small figure. She was graceful too. When she played the violin or the piano, a look would come over her beautiful green eyes that would envelop you, draw you into her music and ignite a passion you had no idea existed.
David definitely noticed her now. As the weeks passed, he began to actually listen to her as well. He moved closer to the front of the class and he began to answer questions and volunteer to play instruments. Ms.Fletcher began to favour David whenever he'd raise his hand, and she'd talk more often to him than any of the class while giving lectures.
David was not the only one to have noticed her however. Every other guy in the class had been discussing what they'd like to do to her. For some reason David didn't join in on this one. They'd all drop their pencils on the floor to see if she'd bend over and pick it up for them. David would almost get angry every single time someone would try it, but every time he'd be relieved to see she had the sense to ignore them. The woman was beautiful, smart and confidant.
David decided to try to get a little closer. He stayed back after class. 'What's on your mind, David?' She said, as she collected her things together.
David took a deep breath. 'It's about this cello piece you gave us to play. I can't seem to get it right.' It was a blatant lie, but he figured God would forgive him.
'Well what particular part is giving you the trouble?' She asked, walking across to him and sitting on the desk, looking at the notes on his page.
'Well… um…' he said, unsure. 'The cello?'