The School Grounds -English Department

[Britwitch]

"No they didn't. They became more...more shallow, if you know what I mean. Less about the sport and more about superiority over others."

It was tiny. But it was there. The slightest change in his tone as he spoke. A hint of regret. Of disappointment.

"I guess both. I mean I speak well and I just write like I would speak. Somebody once said that my writing had a voice in it."

"I'm quite sure that it does...you will have to write something for me, share your voice with me, if you would like to..."

Another note, another future assignment.

"What about reading, then. Do you enjoy reading now? Or was it only that particular book?

There was a soft sound. A giggle almost as she recalled his fourth 'happy thought'.

"Oh, and yes. You are attractive. I'm quite sure it makes many others as happy as it makes you. Does it make you feel confident, looking as you do? With peers? With women...?"

 

[hastobedone]

He opened his eyes now and smiled up at her.

"You want me to write something for you? He looked down shyly at her response, "I'd like that."

She was making notes in a little notepad now. People had down this with him before, ask him questions, right down the answers and keep them secret from him. He had a right to know what they thought about him, right? But with Miss Witch that drive to rip the pad from her hand was gone.

"What about reading, then. Do you enjoy reading now? Or was it only that particular book?"

"I just found an old, battered paperback copy in the library and started reading it one day. I liked the main character. I liked how he tried to rebel against Big Brother, however small that rebellion had been. I wanted to be like him, stand up for what I believed in...But without the torture, you know?" He smiled a little at the joke.

Miss Witch giggled and moved onto the forth thing he had listed.

"Oh, and yes. You are attractive. I'm quite sure it makes many others as happy as it makes you. Does it make you feel confident, looking as you do? With peers? With women...?"

He blushed a little at this and looked down at his hands which he lay clasped in his lap.

"Thank you, Miss." Nobody had said something like that to him, not with that much kindness or caring in their voice. "Girls would always ignore me. They thought it was the weirdo who didn't go to class. I guess why I tried to get their attention, you know?" He said this last bit sheepishly, almost ashamed of how he had behaved in the past.

 

[Britwitch]

"I just found an old, battered paperback copy in the library and started reading it one day. I liked the main character. I liked how he tried to rebel against Big Brother, however small that rebellion had been. I wanted to be like him, stand up for what I believed in...But without the torture, you know?"

"Well that is good to hear, I must say..." Another small smile.

"...Girls would always ignore me. They thought it was the weirdo who didn't go to class. I guess why I tried to get their attention, you know?"

"I do," She replied smoothly, the smile still curving her lips.

"And so to your last happy thought...the piano," She closed the notebook momentarily, pushing it onto the desk before him. Leaving it there. If he wanted to he could easily pick it up and read it, read what she had written. All he would find would be her series of bullet points and words, cues to remind her of how to proceed after this initial session was over. It was as much a test as her questions had been. Could he resist the urge to see for himself what she had written...?

"Music can be a very effective tool, especially when controlling a temper or an unwanted urge. Do you have a favourite piece of music, to play or hear?"

 

[hastobedone]

James felt himself relaxing even more now, growing in his comfort talking about these personal things with Miss Witch. Things he hadn't shared with other people before. They hadn't shown an interest in what he had thought but she did.

"And so to your last happy thought...the piano." As she said this, she pushed her closed notebook across the table so it lay halfway between us. It would have been so easy to have just reached out and grabbed it. To read what she had written about him. James' eyes flickered over it for a second but he fought the urge, keeping his hands clasped together in his lap. He closed his eyes for a second and breathed out slowly.

"Do you have a favourite piece of music, to play or hear?" He heard her ask. He opened his eyes and looked straight into hers, fighting every instinct he had to open the pad.

"Yes, Miss. There's a piece, by Chopin I think. Im not very good but it's not too difficult. I find I can play it and just let go of everything. Transport myself somewhere else, if you know what I mean."

 

[Britwitch]

"Yes, Miss. There's a piece, by Chopin I think. I'm not very good but it's not too difficult. I find I can play it and just let go of everything. Transport myself somewhere else, if you know what I mean."

"I do. I do, very much so. Music is a very powerful thing. It affects everyone, in one way or another. For some it's a release, an escape, while for others ir provides inspiration for something else."

Smiling she paused to repin a small section of curls that had come loose in the struggle earlier.

"And I saw, you know..." She said after a pause.

"I saw you look at the notepad...I know you wanted to take it, to look in it, see what I'd written. I don't blame you either." Her eyes moved over him, taking in his expression, his posture, his breathing. Noting how much calmer he was, how much more comfortable he seemed before returning to meet the gaze he directed at her. "But you didn't..."

Her smile widened considerably.

"It might only be a small thing but it's a big step, James. You could have snatched the book and read it. I know you wanted to. But you didn't."

She leant a little closer, carefully, and touched his upper arm for a second.
"I'm proud of you, James. Very proud."

 

[hastobedone]

She was smiling again. James was happy at this. If Miss Witch was smiling it meant that he was doing well. It was a nice reward too, her pearly white teeth and the slight dimples in her face.

"I saw you look at the notepad...I know you wanted to take it, to look in it, see what I'd written. I don't blame you either." The way she was talking, it was almost as if she knew what he was thinking. She really understood him and thinking that made him smile too.

"It might only be a small thing but it's a big step, James. You could have snatched the book and read it. I know you wanted to. But you didn't." Her smile grew and she placed a gentle hand on is upper arm, rubbing it sloightly for a second.

I'm proud of you, James. Very proud."

"Thank you, Miss." No one had ever told him they were proud of him before. "If I can make you smile, then I know I'm doing well." The smell of her perfume was back as she leaned closer to him and he got a vivid flashback of what happened before but this time he pushed the images to one side and imagined Miss Witch's smile. If he could hold onto that image, then he might be able to control his urge to leap forward again.

 

[Britwitch]

"Thank you, Miss. If I can make you smile, then I know I'm doing well."

"Well, I'd say you're doing very well. For a first session, and given the way things started...you're doing very well indeed."
Another gentle squeeze to his bicep through his clothes and her hand withdrew.

"I'd be interested to know how you reined in that urge though, if you think you can tell me. If we can pinpoint something that you can focus on when those urges rise, something that might make you stop and think, then we could be well on the way to making those moments when you snap and give in a thing of the past."

 

[hastobedone]

She gave another squeeze of his arm, almost affectionate, before she drew her hand away.

"I'd be interested to know how you reined in that urge though."

He looked down sheepishly.

"It's a bit embarrassing Miss." He said to his lap, "Promise you won't laugh but when you touched my arm just then and I felt the urges again, I just thought of your smile and how it would go away if I gave in."

Blushing now he tried to avoid any kind of eye contact with Miss Witch, afraid of how she would see this revelation.

 

[Britwitch]

"It's a bit embarrassing Miss. Promise you wont' laugh but when you touched my arm just then and I felt the urges again, I just thought of your smile and how it would go away if I gave in."

She could see he was embarassed. She could feel a little heat trickle into her own cheeks at his admission.

"Well, while it's not what I expected you to say, if thinking as you did meant you could control yourself then I can't complain." Fingers tucked a curl behind an ear. "Just happy to help."

There was a pause.

"So, we seem to have made some serious progress here." A smile, slightly shy. "Which I believe means a reward should be given. I usually like to make an action plan of sorts with the students I tutor. Figure out goals and the rewards they will receive if they meet them. This is something I think would work particularly well with you. You've dealt with a lot of negativity, both real and perceived and I think some positive affirmation will help you no end. So...

"I would like you to think of 5 things you want, things you'd like to do.. Any five things, of any nature...like I said before, if you tell me what you want to do, you might get to do it..."

 

[hastobedone]

"I would like you to think of 5 things you want, things you'd like to do.. Any five things, of any nature...like I said before, if you tell me what you want to do, you might get to do it..."

He sat there in his chair, silent for a few minutes thinking about what he wanted to say. Five things that he wanted to do. One thing popped into his head straight away but he tried hard to ignore it, to push it to one side.

"OK, I think I have five." He said confidently, straightening in his chair and looking into her eyes.

"One. I want to say sorry to you again, and to the headmistress when I see her again."

"Two. I'd like a nice room here, with a large bed and a view out over the city." On is fingers, James was counting off his list. He rasied a third finger, gently cupping it in is other hand in his lap.

Three. It would be nice to be able to use these books. Maybe take them back to my room until I've read them?" He was very aware of not taking anything for granted. Anyone else and he would have just taken them without asking.

"Four. He paused and smiled to himself, "Four, I'd like you to smile again."

"Five." He paused at number five. He knew what he wanted but he was scared to ask for it, afraid she would get angry again and that he'd end up getting expelled. Miss Witch had said he had made progress today, more progress then in twenty years of his life. He didn't want to throw that all away.

"Well, I don't really want to say number five, Miss."

 

[Britwitch]

She listened to his list, his answers making her smile. That smile growing shy at the fourth. Curious at his hesitance to reveal the fifth.

"Well, as for the first, there's no need to apologise to me any further but I'm sure Miss Vivi would appreciate one from you a great deal. Your second request is a little beyond my powers but I will put in a word with the accommodation office to ensure you get as nice a room as possible." She smiled. "The books are the school's, apart from that collection over there," A hand pointed to a smaller bookcase near the back of the room, all it contained were older looking volumes. The titles having long since faded. "Those are from my own personal collection and would be the only ones I wouldn't allow you to read without my prior consent or to leave this room."

She laughed lightly before continuing.
"As for me smiling, I think that's pretty easily managed."

"But I did ask you for five. I won't be able to arrange anything that we've mentioned so far unless I hear the fifth. Please, tell me what it is. I won't judge you, I promise I only want to know what it is you want. To better understand how we should continue..."

The gap between them was closed as she leant closer once more, hand returning to reassuringly stroke his arm.

"Please, James..."

 

[hastobedone]

Miss Witch seemed happy with the responses he had given her. Her face beamed brightly when she commented on the forth and it made his stomach do cart wheels. But she wasn't pleased that he was holding back on the final one.

"But I did ask you for five. I won't be able to arrange anything that we've mentioned so far unless I hear the fifth. Please, tell me what it is. I won't judge you, I promise I only want to know what it is you want. To better understand how we should continue..."

He knew what he wanted to say, he was just too afraid to say it. There was no way he was going to say what had past through his mind when she first asked the question. There was no way that he thought she would be OK with that suggestion. Too close to what had happened already. James decided that he would tame it down. A lot.

"Please, James..." She had moved closer again, leaning forward. Her arm reassuring rubbed his bicep again.

"Can I kiss you, Miss?" He asked in a whisper.

 

[Britwitch]

There was a slight hesitation. Nerves perhaps...?

"Can I kiss you, Miss?"

She expected something 'stronger' than that but thinking through events so far, it made as much sense as any other answer.
It was unexpected though. Sweet. And kind of intimate.
Her cheeks blushed a little in spite of herself.

"Yes, James. Yes, you can."

She lowered her hand back down so both were resting in her lap but she remained sat forward. Leaning towards him.

Waiting.

 

[hastobedone]

"Yes, James. Yes, you can."

He was taken aback by her response a little. He hadn't expected her to get mad at him for asking for a simple kiss but he definitely hadn't expected her to say yes. She was moving her hands into her lap, still leaning forward a little bit. All he had to do was lean forward and meet her lips there, half way.

He looked at her eyes, those icy blue pools inviting him in. He leaned forward a little, bringing him closer to her lips. The lips that made the smile he prized so highly. The smile that lit up the room. As the distance between them lessened, and the scent of her perfume once again whafted in and around him, he wanted nothing more than to kiss her.

His lips touch hers and he faltered a little, still unbelieving, but quickly regained his focus. His heart beat quickened at the soft brush of her mouth against his. He closed his eyes and moved one hand up to cup the side of her face, her cheek warm and soft to his gentle carress.

 

[Britwitch]

His lips were warm and smooth. Slightly hesitant and understandably nervous.
She felt his hand rest against her face and her head tilted instinctively towards it. Her lips reacting to mimic his actions, allowing him to set the pace entirely.

This was his kiss. His reward.

Hopefully he would see that hard work and good behaviour would result in more rewards. Greater rewards. Understand that she might make the rules, but if he followed them, he could have all that he wanted.

The room was silent apart from the sounds of breathing and the slow, soft sounds of their kiss.

 

[hastobedone]

He felt her nuzzle her head into his hand, responding to his gentle stroking. James moved his hand from her cheek and started playing with the soft curls of her hair that hung down over her ear. Lost in the ecstasy of the moment James forgot where he was, the two of them becoming separated from the rest of the external world. All that mattered was this kiss.

He slipped his tongue out and ran it along her lips gently, before pushing past and into her mouth. He felt a spark of heat run through him as their tongues met, his mind and body becoming awash with emotions. Dancing around each other, their tongues wrestled and tangled with one another. He pulled his tongue back a little, the sensation of her teeth racking over pleasing him as she followed, James nimbling soflty at her lower lip.

 

[Britwitch]

She had to be careful that she didn't let herself sink into the kiss too deeply, but it was more difficult then she anticipated.
Tongue and lips melding together, teeth joining the slow, sensual dance every so often. She returned everything he gave.

After several long moments had passed during which not a word had been spoken and yet a lot had been said...she started to sit back.

 

[hastobedone]

He was beginning to suck on her lower lip when he felt her begin to pull away from him. Instinctively, his mouth tried to follow hers but all James managed to do was awkwardly kiss the air in front of him for a few seconds.

Eyes snapping open, he slowly drew himself back into a sitting position on his chair and they spent a moment just looking at one another in silence. For him, the kiss had been heaven and by the way she had responded, her head in his hands, the entwining of their tongues, she had enjoyed it to. The silence was deafening, blood pounding through his ears.

"Thank you, Miss Witch." Was all he could think of to say.

 

[Britwitch]

"Thank you, Miss Witch."

"You're very welcome, James," She sat back, an almost shy smile on her lips.
"It was your efforts though that allowed me to share that with you. Hopefully that will prove incentive enough for you to want to continue to work with me to help you work beyond your problems."

"I think we have done well, very well, for our first lesson but I do still wish to at least start to plan for our next. If you would be so kind as to look at the poster on the wall there..."

She pointed to the large laminated sheet beside the blackboard.

"Each letter, each statement, represents a lesson. I believe we have covered this one..."

She rose and gestured to the second 'T', Truth in the Telling.

"I would like you to look at the others and choose for yourself three more letters, three more lessons. These will be the ones we will follow with in our future sessions."

She looked back at him and smiled again, reassuringly.

"There is no right or wrong answer here, James, all of my lessons are tailored to suit each student as closely as possible."

"Take all the time you need."

 

[hastobedone]

"It was your efforts though that allowed me to share that with you. Hopefully that will prove incentive enough for you to want to continue to work with me to help you work beyond your problems."

"Trust me, Miss. If I get rewarded with kisses from you, I promise to work hard."

Miss Witch indicated over her shoulder to where a large image hung on the wall.

f you would be so kind as to look at the poster on the wall there..."I would like you to look at the others and choose for yourself three more letters, three more lessons. These will be the ones we will follow with in our future sessions."

James spent a good few minutes looking at the nine options that he was left with, weighing each of them in his mind. He smirked inwardly as he struck upon a thought.

"OK, Miss. I have my three lessons. Rapturous Appreciation, Undeniably Pleasurable, and Theatre of Life." It was childish, he knew, but he couldn't resist.

The letters R, U, T.

 

[Britwitch]

"Trust me, Miss. If I get rewarded with kisses from you, I promise to work hard. OK, Miss. I have my three lessons. Rapturous Appreciation, Undeniably Pleasurable, and Theatre of Life."

Lips curved into a slight smile as she noted his choices in her notebook, brain already making decisions for their future lessons.

"Fair enough, James." The pad was closed and placed within a drawer in her desk.

"Now, I think you have some settling in to do and I will give you a letter to pass onto the secretary to see about improving your accommodation a little..." Bending at the waist, she took a blank sheet of headed paper from a stack on one corner of the desk and proceeded to write a short note asking for him to be given a private room if at all possible.

"You've done very well today James, very well indeed. You should be proud of yourself. Next time, we shall continue with one of your chosen lessons. Did you have any questions before you go?" She asked without looking round, pen moving gracefully over the paper while she finished off her letter.

 

[hastobedone]

"Only one question, Miss."

He was trying very hard to avert his eyes from her shapely behind in front of him. The figure hugging dress she had chosen to wear that day was making it very hard but he managed to restrain himself by running his eyes over the spines of the books on the bookcases that lined the room.

Austin. Dickens. Conan-Doyle.

He was pleased she was trying to help him get a nice room to use whilst he stayed here and he was very pleased she thought that they had made some progress during th e course of his first lesson. He thought of what possibilities future lessons would hold. If this one was anything to go by, he would enjoy them.

"When is my next lesson scheduled to happen?"

He sat and waited for her to reply.

Thackeray. Lawrence. Bronte.

 

[Britwitch]

"Only one question, Miss. When is my next lesson scheduled to happen?"

She finished her note and stood, turning smoothly in her heels and folded the paper into three.

"Soon enough, although I should give you some time to settle in before I see you again. The timetable here is very flexible, designed to work around the students' needs. When do you feel you'd be ready for another lesson...?"

The paper was held out for him to take.

"If you give this to Miss Fiana at the main desk, she'll forward it on to the appropriate people for you.

"If you like, you can choose some books to take with you." She suggested. "Two or three perhaps, and then you can bring them back when we have our next session?" The offer was genuine, she wanted to reward his improved behaviour. His choices of texts would also give her another little insight into her student's personality.

 

[Britwitch]

Papers. She loved reading them, she hated grading them. Partly because it meant putting labels and definitions to other people's visions of things. In Maths or Science, answers were right or wrong. Black or white.

English was everything in between. It was one of the things she loved so about language. One word could mean so many things to so many people. It was so open and inclusive. Everybody who could speak, could write. At least she believed that to be the case.

True, some were gifted with eloquence that made her soul sing to read it but that didn't mean that the words of even the most minimalist of writers didn't count, didn't matter.

And so, she sat, pencil twisted into long hair to hold it up, another tapping on her teeth as she started to read through another essay during a free session. Her other hand toying with the top button on her blouse, opening and closing it as eyes scanned the page. Light marks appearing here and there. Corrections on spellings, questions about grammar, suggestions about syntax. Helping mould what had been written into the best that it could be.

Blue eyes flicked to the clock, the custodian was due to come and look at her door. It hadn't been right for a while but the force with which it was closed during the Headmistress' most recent visit meant now it either didn't close at all or stuck so fast she had panicked once or twice about getting stuck in her classroom.

He could work, she was sure, without disturbing her.
Or vice versa.