First of all, a big shout out to my team of pre-readers and beta: NimNimBonjangles, bevey99, and Fran. Thank you so much for all the help with this story.
Also, a huge thank you to all of you who've read, fav'ed, followed, and reviewed this. It means a lot to me.
[Bella]
Friday morning found me in the staff room. I hadn't been in there much, but this morning I needed a strong coffee.
I'd been tossing and turning half of the night.
For some reason, I was nervous about Edward's detention with me. No other person had ever gotten under my skin like him.
My dreams had been plagued with his intense green eyes and that smirk he usually sported when he thought he was superior to his classmates.
"Morning!" Alice chirped, far too cheerful for the gloomy weather we had.
We were a few days into March, but I couldn't feel it. The rain and cold were still present, and they weren't likely to go away any time soon.
"Hey," I mumbled, pouring coffee in one of the mugs on the small counter.
"Rough night?" she teased.
I felt my cheeks pinking. "I wish. I stayed up late grading pop quizzes." It wasn't exactly a lie.
My juniors had upset me the other day, and I invented a pop quiz to remind them I wanted them to learn. I wasn't likely to register their grades because they'd all failed miserably. Maybe it would be a wake-up call for them to start studying.
"You'd think I have it easier, but after looking at the same pear for hours, all drawings look the same," she said, shrugging.
"I still think Art is easier than Biology," I said, sipping from my mug.
I was ready to make my exit and head to my class, which was ready to start in only five minutes when Tanya joined us.
"You have to tell us what magic trick you used on Jacob because I've never seen a woman holding his attention for more than a minute."
She was just sour Jake was my friend, and he wouldn't give her the time of day. I'd given up playing her game after she'd cornered me several times with the same question.
"I'm late," I said lamely, hurrying out of the room.
The day dragged in a mist of juniors apologizing for not studying and seniors who started a heated debate about whether a tomato was a fruit or vegetable. I wasn't even sure how that happened, but I'd stopped trying to grab their attention after several minutes. As long as the discussion was biology-related, I didn't have a problem with it.
I was running late for lunch, because I took the time to prepare the microscopes on each table for my next class. I had a fun lab planned for them. Hopefully, it would be interesting, too, to see semen under the microscope's lenses.
I got a helping of fries sprinkled with grated cheese and an apple before heading to our table. Eating in the cafeteria was much more entertaining than the staff room or the solitude of my office. I'd tried the other two, but unless I had to work during lunch, I preferred it here.
Jacob wasn't at our table, but his burger was there.
I looked up toward the basketball team's table to find him in an argument with one of the boys. He ended up leaving with the boy's food. To my surprise, he dumped it in the first trash can before coming to me.
"You're late," he noted.
"Yeah, I prepared for my next class. What was that?"
"They know better than to eat that crap. Especially with the game next week."
"You have them on a diet?" I asked, surprised.
"They have a strict menu they have to follow; besides the exercise I want them to do in their spare time. Some of these boys want sports scholarships. They won't get them by eating junk food."
"Hypocrite much?" I pointed to his food.
He rolled his eyes. "Do as they say, or what was that saying?" he joked.
I snorted, digging into my food. "So, when's the next game?"
"Tuesday. You gonna come?"
"You know it." I grinned. "I'm curious to see how good we are."
"The best, without any modesty. I must admit, that girl is the best I'd seen in my life. And I don't praise people easily."
"See?" I teased, elbowing him.
"Even Cullen noticed he couldn't argue with me about choosing her. She's that good." Jacob smirked, looking smug.
"What's your deal with him? With Edward…"
"Like I told you, he's a good kid. His tough, bad boy act doesn't impress me. If he wants Cornell, he better work for it."
Cornell. Wow. So, he wanted to become a doctor. I had to broach that subject with him during our time together this afternoon.
"Anyway, you coming to Dawn tomorrow? We missed you last weekend," Jake said, changing the subject.
"Is Tanya coming?"
He laughed, shrugging. "Scared of her?"
"I don't want to get in trouble for punching her," I said honestly.
He laughed some more, shaking his head. "Catfight," he whistled.
"Don't stoop to their level." I jerked my head to the teenagers around us. "I might drop by. It depends on whether we finish today or not. I might come back tomorrow."
"You better drag Cullen's ass out of bed for this, too. It's his detention to help you."
"Of course." I hadn't planned on spending more time than necessary around Edward, but I might need his help.
And I was going to see how strong he was because we had several large plants in the room that probably needed a weightlifter to handle them. Most likely, Edward wouldn't be that strong. He was still a kid.
"If you change your mind about tomorrow, we'll be there," Jake said as we walked out of the cafeteria sometime later.
"Sure."
On the stairs, Edward caught up with me. "Say, can you tell Coach I'm going to start detention early, so I don't have to go to the gym?"
I nearly lost my footing but managed to stay upright. "I'll be busy during your gym class. I'll see you back at three o'clock." It wasn't even a lie. I planned to work on Monday's lessons, so I'd enjoy my weekend.
He scoffed but trailed after me.
When we stepped into the classroom, he gasped. "Not an exam on planaria," he groaned.
I snorted, heading to my desk. "We're studying human anatomy, in case you'd forgotten."
"Are we blood sampling?" He paled, taking a step backward to the door.
"Scared of blood?" I teased.
All the color drained from his face. "Just tell me, so I'll get comfy on my special cot in the nurse's office."
"No, we're not blood sampling. No blood will be drawn today."
He sighed in relief, slowly walking to his desk. Angela appeared in the doorway just as he took his seat. He didn't even scowl her way.
I wanted to tell him there was no need to be embarrassed about feeling faint at the sight of blood. I was ten years older than him and still fainted when blood was spilled.
As the classroom started filling, Edward clicked at his pen, keeping his eyes fixed on the microscope. I'd come to understand it was a nervous habit – the pen clicking, but it was annoying the hell out of me.
I threw a piece of chalk at him, surprisingly hitting him in the shoulder. My aim was getting better, apparently.
His green gazed flicked to my face. He looked startled, and then awareness dawned. He placed the pen on the table, linking his fingers near the microscope, a smile on his face.
"Thank you," I mouthed to him.
Once everyone was in their seats, I handed out the slides of sperm samples. It was the best introduction to that chapter I could think of. So far, they'd acted pretty much mature with several exceptions, but I was going into details soon. It was going to be awkward for all of us.
I started placing slides on each table, finishing with Edward. I slapped his hand when he made to put it on the mechanical stage.
"I want you all to check the slide you've been given and try to guess what you're looking at." I leaned against my desk, my favorite place so far.
Today I was wearing jeans, knowing I'd have to be crouched while repotting. I didn't want to flash Edward. It was enough he was fucking with my brain as it was.
The sounds of glass clinking was heard in the next few minutes, followed by groans and murmurs.
"No talking," I reminded them. "Unless you know the answer."
"Fuck me," Edward muttered, his eyes finding mine. His were wide with shock. "Is this…?"
I waved my hand, urging him to continue, but he didn't. He returned to stare through the lens, adjusting the focus as if that would change the slide's contents.
He really was much smarter than he let the others see. The first time I'd seen sperm through the lens, it had taken me an embarrassingly long time to understand what I was looking at.
Angela's hand shot up, and I nodded to her. "Annelid."
I fought against my smile.
Before Edward could turn and make her cry, which had happened before, I kicked the sole of his boot, sticking from under the table.
He threw me a smile that left me with an empty feeling in my stomach.
"Is it fleas?" Rosalie asked, still bent over her microscope.
Edward snorted, pulling his feet away from my kicking range.
"Why don't you put your classmates out of misery and tell them what they're looking at, Mr. Cullen?"
He turned around to face the others. "So, class…today, we're studying spunk."
I pushed against his shoulder until he was facing the front of the class again. "As Mr. Cullen so bluntly put it, yes. You're looking at sperm."
A chorus of disgusted voices filled the room. I chose to speak above them, hoping they'd quiet down. Sadly, my voice got drowned.
A loud whistle from next to my right ear made my ears ring, but it had done the trick.
"Thank you, Mr. Cullen. That wasn't necessary." I restrained to urge to stick a finger in my ear.
"Fuckers weren't paying attention."
"Should we start a swear jar? You'll have no pocket money by the end of the year," I told him, amused.
He shrugged noncommittally, relaxing back in his chair.
I continued telling them about the male reproductive cell and what it meant for animals, flowers, and humans.
"Do any of you know what sort of cell sperm is?"
After watching their starry-eyedfaces for a few minutes, I was about to tell them the answer when Edward's hand shot up. He was still facing the blackboard. I could see the muscles in his back through his white shirt. He was tense.
"Yes, Mr. Cullen." I took the slide from Newton's hand before he cut himself on the glass. I'd promised Edward no blood.
"It's a haploid cell, which refers to having the number of sets of chromosomes normally found in a gamete. Two gametes necessarily combine during sexual reproduction to form a single zygote from which somatic cells are generated. Healthy gametes always possess exactly half the number of sets of chromosomes found in the somatic cells, and therefore haploid in this sense refers to having exactly half the number of sets of chromosomes found in a somatic cell."
As he spoke, I went closer, expecting him to be reading from the textbook or Wikipedia on his phone. His fingers were playing with the piece of chalk I'd thrown at him earlier; his eyes focused on the back of my laptop, sitting on my desk.
I noticed the impressed looks on the others, even on Rosalie, who always had a snide remark for him.
"Thank you. The sperm's main function is to reach the ovum and fuse to deliver two sub-cellular structures. The mammalian sperm cell can be divided into two parts: head and tail. You may notice that if you check your slides." I prompted them to take another look. "The head contains the nucleus, with densely coiled chromatin fibers, surrounded anteriorly by a thin, flattened sac called the acrosome, which contains enzymes used for penetrating the female egg. Also, it contains vacuoles. The tail, called the flagellum as well, is the longest part and capable of wave-like motion that propels sperm for swimming and aids in the penetration of the egg. A 2020 study by the University of Bristol stated that the tail moves in a more complicated manner, combining asymmetrical standing and traveling waves as well as rotating the entire body to achieve a perceived symmetry."
"Were you part of that study?" Edward's voice was much rougher than usual.
"No," I chose to answer simply. "The neck or connecting piece contains one typical centriole and one atypical centriole such as the proximal centriole-like. The midpiece has a central filamentous core with many mitochondria spiraled around it, used for ATP production for the journey through the female cervix, uterus, and uterine tubes."
"ATP?" Angela repeated. "Sorry," she added quickly, lifting her hand.
"Adenosine triphosphate," Edward muttered, rolling his eyes. "Sorry," he mocked, lifting his hand.
"ATP, or adenosine triphosphate, as Mr. Cullen was kind enough to share with the class, is an organic compound and a hydrotrope that provides energy to drive many processes in living cells, such as muscle contraction, nerve impulse propagation, condensate dissolution, and chemical synthesis."
I waited for some of them to take notes while I made a mental note for later when we were alone. I had to ask Edward about how he knew so much.
By the time the bell rang, I was sure some of the girls were ready to die of embarrassment. I'd overcome my usual shyness as I kept talking. This was something completely natural, but society made it a taboo subject.
"Later." Edward winked, leaving the room.
I stored the slides and microscopes back in their cabinets before continuing my research about what some of the plants in the room needed. The only one that worried me was the Venus Flytrap. I had two pairs of thick gloves, but touching it scared me. I'd rather deal with the big ficus in the corner.
I prepared new pots for the small and delicate petunias.
Three o'clock came and went.
I was already elbows deep in filling the lined pots with fresh soil when I heard sneakers squeaking in the hallway, and then the door opened loudly. Edward's face was flushed, and he was in his gym clothes.
"I'm so sorry, Ms. Swan. Coach kept me after class."
And I believed him. He sounded and looked honest enough.
"Grab a pair of gloves and come here."
He radiated heat as he stopped next to me, snapping the gloves on his long fingers. "The petunias first?"
I nodded, watching as he carried all of them to the table I'd chosen as our workstation. "You hold the pot; I pick the flower," I instructed.
"I won't kill them. I've done this before."
"Really?" I stared as he gently moved a purple flower until it dislodged from the old soil it was sitting in. He brushed all the soil from the roots before placing it in one of the pots I'd prepared. He even chose the one I'd already put some fresh soil in and dug a little hole.
"Esme loves flowers. Sometimes, I help her in the greenhouse." He shrugged.
I had no idea who Esme was to him, but I admired him on a whole new level.
We worked in relative silence as we repotted a particularly large plant.
"Careful," I warned when he shook the roots. "Don't rip it." He ignored me, gripping the stems harder, shaking them to dislodge the plant from the soil. I could hear the sound of ripping.
I shoved my shoulder into his arm to make him move away so I'd take over that delicate task, but he didn't even budge. He shot me an amused look, though he allowed me to get my hands on the plant. Coincidentally, it was named Monstera Deliciousa.
This was the sweetest torture.
My legs felt weak when his breath came in hot puffs on my neck, silently assisting me with the transfer to a larger pot.
Next came the spider plants, which were tricky, considering we couldn't see where their roots were. But slowly, we had the task accomplished.
I could feel sweat covering my back and cursed my genius idea to leave my plaid flannel shirt over my white T-shirt. Edward looked just as affected, especially when he offered to tug the ficus closer. I had to say I was impressed with how strong he was.
"Not sure what you want to do with this bad boy, but I'm not even gonna attempt to lift it," he mumbled.
"We'll have to slowly take out the soil from around it before we move the plant to this bigger pot." I pointed to the largest one under the table.
"Fuck," he groaned.
We had a small scoop, and while he used that to dig around the trunk, I took handfuls of the soil, dumping it in a new box beside us.
"How did Mr. Banner do this before?" I asked, really curious. It was also an attempt to distract me from the small beads of sweat rolling down his temple, wetting his white T-shirt.
He shrugged. "No clue, but one thing is sure. I'd rather clean the janitor's closet forever than do this."
"I thought you liked plants," I teased.
His intense green eyes found mine. His pink tongue poked up as if he was a toddler. "Touché, Ms. Swan."
It felt like we'd been digging around the trunk for hours, yet there was little progress. We'd be working on the ficus for a while.
"I'm curious," I started, trying to find the best way to word it so he wouldn't get upset. "You're really smart. Why don't you care more for school?"
"Thank you," he said honestly. "Everything bores me because I already know all this shit. I have to admit…" he looked at me through the leaves "… you're the first to make a class fun and have everyone participate. It's usually the same old, same old. The teacher figures out who's the nerd and they point them out to answer every time. When they want to spice it up and feed off our pain, they try someone else. The answers are usually wrong, of course."
"Not from you," I said softly.
"What makes you think I'd play their games? Of course, unless it's someone who grits on my nerves and deserves to see that even the jocks have brains."
I found myself giggling. "Mind if I ask who of my colleagues fall under that category? I promise not to tell them."
Edward stiffened, dropping the scoop. "Do you think I'm stupid?"
"I just told you how smart I think you really are," I countered.
The corner of his mouth lifted.
"You don't have to tell me," I cajoled.
"Denali is an easy target." He picked the scoop up again, pointing it to me like a weapon. "I'd know it was you if she hates me more on Monday."
If he'd told me that name a few days ago, I wouldn't have known who he was talking about, but I'd recently learned Tanya's full name. I tried not to laugh because it seemed she wasn't disliked only by the other teachers, but by the students, too. Though, when is a math teacher loved?
"I completely understand you there," I whispered.
His eyes widened, then he threw his head back, laughing loudly. It was the most carefree I'd seen him so far.
"Of course," he sneered. "She had her eyes on Coach for ages. She must be crazy jealous of you."
"Well, she doesn't have a solid reason to hate me. Mr. Black is only my friend."
Before we moved the ficus to the bigger pot, I took my gloves off, shrugging out of my shirt. I welcomed the cool air in the classroom as it touched my bare arms. As I put the gloves back on, I felt Edward's eyes on me.
He didn't look particularly happy. I hoped he hadn't thought I was abandoning him.
He held the ficus over the larger pot. "Hold it here while I put fresh soil in the pot," he instructed.
I accepted the task, considered I wasn't likely to be able to lift that big sack of soil. I watched the muscles on his back stretching under his drenched shirt. It was sticking to his skin, and my thoughts horrified me.
I wondered what he'd look like without it.
I'd never imagined myself to be that kind of person…the cliché teacher wanting to sleep with a student.
Sleep with him? I nearly dropped the plant when that thought entered my mind.
He kept wiping his forearm over his face to clear it of sweat, sometimes meeting my eyes through his thick lashes, his jaw set in a strong line.
Once we were done, he pushed the ficus to its corner before returning to our worktable with the Venus Flytrap.
I made to take it from him, having an idea how to proceed after my research, but he turned his back to me, already working on pulling it out.
The artificial lights in the classroom were the only light source since the sun had set a while back. I felt terrible for keeping him here for so long. Detention usually lasts one hour or two, depending on the teacher. I'd kept him for at least five hours.
"Done," he declared, taking the pot back.
"Thank you so much."
He shrugged. Instead of leaving, he helped me carry all the boxes with old soil outside to the dumpsters. On our last trip there, I grabbed my jacket and purse.
Our cars were the only ones in the parking lot.
"Have a nice weekend," I called to him as he went to his car.
He looked at me over his open door, a crooked smile on his lips. "You too, Ms. Swan."
Was the detention how you expected? The tension is so thick between these two.
This story is fully pre-written and there will be regular Sunday updates until it's completed. I'm currently working on the sequel. =)
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