Ms. Tille Bitton sat at her desk, quietly grading papers. School was over but she wasn't alone in her classroom. Graduation was just around the corner and there were a few students that needed to raise their grade in her class in order to graduate. She told them if they stayed after school, she would give them extra credit assignments to catch up. If they really wanted to graduate, this was their only shot.
Most teachers wouldn't want to work the extra hours after school but Tille didn't mind. She had nothing better to do at home. She had always been the quiet, timid type. Never outgoing, she didn't easily make friends. Relationships were even harder. She was 33 years old and she could count the number of men she had dated on one hand. By this point, she had basically given up. She was probably going to be forever alone, living with only the company of her three cats.
Her pen drifted over the paper she was grading when she heard the sound of a chair scraping across the tiled classroom floor. Looking up from the paper, she saw Veronica Cunduff approaching.
"Finished already?" Tille asked.
"I guess," Veronica muttered, handing the paper over. The girl was dressed completely in black from head to toe. She had a bright purple streak in her dark hair and black eyeshadow. Tille always felt kind of intimated by her but she did her best not to show it.
"I really appreciate you making the effort to raise your grade," she said, taking the paper from Veronica.
"Whatever," Veronica muttered. With her backpack over her shoulder, she turned and left the classroom. Tille sighed and looked down at the paper. The first page was finished but when she flipped to the second, she saw it was only half completed. She frowned. Some kids couldn't be helped..
She pushed the paper aside and glanced over her small classroom. There were only three students remaining. Maddox McCain, Flint Walsh and Chris Randolf. Chris was a quiet kid. Never spoke up in class. Always kept his eyes lowered. He reminded her a lot of herself. Maddox and Flint were the complete opposite. Maddox was the star quarterback of the school's football team. Flint was on the team as well. Running back. Tille didn't know much about football but she knew their type. Arrogant jocks that thought the world revolved around them.
Well it didn't revolve around them, did it? Because they were both failing, and unlike some of her fellow teachers, she refused to up their grade simply because they were jocks. If they wanted to graduate, they needed to work for it. There were no free passes in her class.
Turning her attention back to her papers, she went back to work. Several minutes passed until suddenly the silence in the room was broken.
"I-I... I said no," Chris stammered.
"And I don't give a fuck," Maddox said. He stood from his desk in an instant. Despite being a student, you wouldn't know it. Tall, lean and muscular, he could easily pass for someone in his twenties. He had dirty blonde hair and blue eyes. His face was clean shaven, and he had that clean cut, preppy boy look that the girl students flocked to. Tille would never in a million years admit it out loud, but he was an attractive young man.
"Maddox, please..." Chris said. His body was tense as he lowered himself and leaned away from Maddox.
"What's going on here?" Tille said loudly, her voice echoing across the room.
"Don't worry about it, Ms. B," Flint said. Tille hated when he called her that.
"Ms. Bitton," she corrected him. "Maddox, take your seat."
Maddox turned to look at her, a bitter scowl on his face. It was a sexy expression. Like a magazine model giving her a smoldering look. The kid had no right being so handsome. He gave Chris a shove on his shoulder then turned and sat back down.
"Does anyone want to tell me what's going on? Chris?" she asked.
Chris glanced over at Maddox, who gave him a look of warning.
"It's... It's nothing," Chris said quickly.
Tille let out a sigh. She was sure it was more than nothing but she debated on whether or not she wanted to get involved. She was the teacher. The authority here. But if she was being honest, she always felt uncomfortable around Maddox. Part of it was due to her secret attraction to him. She knew it was wrong to be attracted to a student. Another part of it was his explosive personality. She could tell he was used to getting what he wanted and he hated when something didn't go his way. When she told him she wouldn't give him a passing grade, he exploded on her, slinging his chair across the way, calling her a bitch and storming out of the room. She should have reported him for that but she didn't... Because the next day, he came in, said he was sorry, and agreed to take the extra credit class.
Now, here he was again, trying to cause trouble.
"Well... get back to work," she said to them, with a sigh.
Quiet settled over the room again. Three more papers were graded when she heard what sounded like whispering. She lifted her eyes from her desk and saw Maddox with not one paper on his desk, but two. Chris was looking uncomfortable at his own desk and when he caught her eyes, he quickly looked away. She realized then what was happening. Maddox was cheating!
She stood from her desk and approached the boys, who were all three sitting close to each other. The desks trailed down the classroom in five lines. Maddox and Flint sat in one line, and Chris was across from them.
"What is this? Are you cheating?" she accused, her heels clicking across the hard floor before coming to a stop in front of Maddox's desk.
Maddox should have looked guilty. He was caught. But there was no shame behind his blue eyes. He only smirked at her and said, "So what if I am?"
Tille felt heat spread across her face. Her cheeks flushed and she had to look away from him. "Maddox, you know I can't allow that."
"Why not?" Maddox said arrogantly.
"Because!" she snapped, suddenly looking back at him. "I told you, if you want to pass my class, you have to earn your grade."
Maddox looked at her in a way he never had before. It was a look that began at her face and traveled over her body. His bright blue eyes brushed softly over her sky blue blouse, then caressed her hips as they drifted over the simple and conservative navy colored skirt she was wearing. Something about that look excited her and scared at the same time. He should not be looking at her like that!
"There has to be another way for me to earn my grade," he finally said.
Tille swallowed hard. Logically, there was only one way he could raise his grade. The extra credit assignments. He knew that.
"You... You have to do your own work. That's the only way you can pass," she said nervously. She still couldn't bring herself to hold eye contact with him.
Suddenly Maddox was rising from his desk. The action startled her and she took a step away from him. Even while wearing heels, he towered over her. He wasn't broad like a linebacker. He was lean and stout with large biceps used for throwing footballs. He had wide shoulders and a thin waist. All hard muscle. But he didn't need to be a brick wall of a man to make her feel intimidated.
"Maddox, please take your seat," she said quietly.
"Com'on, Ms. Bitton. We can figure something else out, right?" he said. Suddenly his voice sounded more seductive. Or was that her imagination? Her heart began to race inside her chest and she felt ashamed when she realized she had become damp between her legs.
"No. I'm serious. Sit down or you're going to have to leave," she said, doing her best to sound stern. She lifted her head and looked up at him with confidence. Or at least, she tried to.
