The late August heat radiated off the asphalt as Becky opened the door of her Ford Bronco and stepped onto the faculty parking lot at Trinity High School. It was the first day of her second year at the all-male Catholic school. As she gathered her purse and work bag from the backseat, she felt the hot sun on her bare calves. It was only 7:30 in the morning, but the temperature was already nearing 80 degrees. The humidity was so thick it felt like a blanket smothering her as the Midwestern summer rolled on. While it didn't feel like school weather, Becky was happy to be back.
She'd gotten a job at Trinity mostly by happenstance. Becky and her boyfriend, Tyler, went to a wedding the summer before, in August 1997, and, while in line for a drink at the bar, she'd struck up a conversation with a man in line ahead of her. He worked at Trinity and said they'd just had a math teacher resign unexpectedly, leaving an opening they urgently needed to fill. Becky's mathematics and engineering degrees would be perfect, he'd said, as would her master's degree in education. A few days later she applied and, after a whirlwind of meetings, interviews, and paperwork, soon found herself teaching high school math.
Now, as she hurried across the parking lot and upper field to the doors of the historic school building, Becky was ready for year two. It had been a long summer. As of July 1, Tyler was in the second of his four years as a resident physician. The first year had been bad enough, but this year the workload ratcheted up immensely. He worked all the time--days, nights, weekends, holidays, double shifts, triple shifts. It left little time for her. It felt strange, being in a serious relationship yet essentially being a single woman.
She'd spent the summer mostly alone, fitting in time with Tyler when she could. Thankfully the sex was still wild, maybe even more intense now that it was so much less frequent. They ravished each other whenever they could which, admittedly, wasn't nearly enough for Becky. But she knew it would be worth it, being married to a doctor. Although he hadn't proposed yet and she didn't want to jinx it, Becky knew that's where things were headed. She just had to hang on for three more years.
At least school is back in session, she thought as she entered the building and basked in the cool, air conditioned air. She'd certainly learned a lot the first year--how to manage a classroom, how to handle disruptive students, how to get through to kids who lacked motivation or were easily distracted. All the things they talked about in graduate school but couldn't be learned except through doing.
She knew this year would be a more challenging. Last year, she taught four sections of geometry, all to sophomores. This year, she'd have two sophomore geometry classes and two senior calculus classes. She would also have a senior homeroom and was expected to supervise an extracurricular activity or help coach a sport. That meant Becky would have to find an extracurricular to help with, she thought as she headed up the stairs to her office, because she knew nothing about sports.
Becky was excited about teaching seniors. Last year, she'd had little contact with the upperclassmen. She taught only sophomores and her office on the third floor was in the connecting hallway that ran perpendicular to the freshman and sophomore hallways. Her only contact with the seniors came when she'd occasionally had to walk down their hallway on her way to a meeting. It had been a little unnerving, she recalled as she took the stairs to her office.
Admittedly, Becky had been a bit naïve when she'd started, not fully prepared for a school full of 18-year-old young men. Maybe more out of practice than naïve, she thought as she climbed to the third floor. She'd spent the preceding two years getting her master's degree in education, in classes overflowing with women students taught by female professors. It was a far cry from her undergraduate years, when she'd been one of the few women in her math and engineering classes. She'd spent those four years being ogled and lusted after by male students and teachers.
But she'd been dating Tyler and, while she liked the attention, she didn't much care. Becky knew how lucky she'd been to have met Tyler the first week of her freshman year at Vanderbilt in Nashville, during orientation. Coming directly from her tiny hometown in South Dakota, she'd been a little off balance, with tons of questions about life on campus, living in the midst of a big city, and college in general. Tyler was a junior who was the leader of her group, and he'd been super helpful, trying to be the helpful older student and not the horny guy who wanted to get in her pants.
She'd recognized his desire right away, by then used to being wanted by men and the power of her breasts. Becky let Tyler inside her on their third date and, as it turned out, hadn't let anyone in since. Tyler hadn't just been trying to sleep with her, he really did like her. More than that, actually. She'd been off the market ever since, never getting to experience the world of dating or casual hookups and settling instead for idle flirting and being the object of her classmates' desire.
Last year, when she was 24 and fresh out of school, those undergraduate years came flooding back. The first time she walked down the senior hallway, she couldn't help but notice the stares and second takes as she walked by. Her shoulder-length light brown hair framed her youthful face, which was even prettier when she smiled. At 5'4," she had a petite body with a slender waist. Her breasts were her best feature, being large and firm and amplified by her flat stomach. Her ass and legs completed the package and looked great in a skirt.
Being ogled by students wasn't something they really prepared you for in school and, during two years of ed school, she'd been largely insulated from that during the day. She'd been a little surprised at first, more of a reflex than anything else. She'd heard the occasional comment as she walked by, mostly empty bravado and youthful boasting about what they'd do to her if given the chance. Like they had any idea how to follow through and really please a woman, she'd thought. Or that she'd ever let them. Becky was a professional, here to teach math, get a little experience, and, hopefully, land a spot on a college faculty in a few years. Sure, it was flattering, but it was just talk.
Becky said hello to a few of her colleagues as she entered the math department office. They caught up as she unpacked and organized her desk, mostly about the summer. They were all older than her and had spouses and kids and went on vacations and coached sports. All the things she wanted someday, but certainly not yet. When asked how her summer was, she told them about Tyler's residency, his hours, his current ER rotation. Frankly, she had little to say about herself, other than going for runs, going to the gym, watching TV, and waiting for Tyler to get home. Saying it out loud made it really hit home. Man, I need to get out more, she thought as she headed to her homeroom.
Becky hadn't been assigned to a homeroom last year. Now, she was responsible for monitoring 30 seniors for the first 15 minutes of the day. Basically, her job was to read some announcements and make sure they didn't do anything too stupid before first period. She hadn't taught juniors last year, so these students were new to her. Standing behind the podium in a black, knee-length skirt and tight red top, she noticed a dry erase marker lying on the floor at the front of the room, just under the whiteboard.
She paused, knowing she should ask one of the handful of students to pick it up. She'd learned a few things in her first year, and they weren't going to pull that one on her again. She asked a student in the front row to retrieve it, the disappointed look on his face letting her know she was right about their intentions.
Standing behind the podium as the last students filtered in, she said, "Good morning, gentlemen. I'm Ms. Tapper and I'll be your homeroom teacher this year," she said. "Let's begin with the morning prayer and then I'll read some announcements." She'd led them in prayer, something she found somewhat strange. She'd attended public high school and although she'd been raised Catholic, she hadn't been to church in probably ten years. The students, now in their fourth year, knew it by heart and, unlike her, didn't need to read along. Then she'd read the day's announcements and sat at her desk as the rest of the 15-minute period wound down.
By the end of the first day, she was worn out and ready to head home. As she drove, she again thought about Tyler and the way their role-playing had made him so horny last year. God, what I wouldn't give to have him do that to me again tonight, Becky thought. Parking in front of her house, she noticed Tyler's car was absent. It figures, Becky thought dejectedly as she walked up the steps to their front porch. Tyler worked all the time--easily nearing 100 hours per week, leaving too little time for her, she thought with frustration.
As she sat down on her couch, she found herself fantasizing about how last year, she'd told Tyler that she'd noticed the custodians were doing a poor job of cleaning up her classroom. Erasers, chalk, papers--all manner of things were left on the floor a few times per week. She'd mentioned to Tyler that she was thinking of complaining, but since she was new didn't want to start off by getting her new colleagues in trouble over something so minor.
