Chapter 2
Jack sat in Principal Doyle's office and let the words of the woman wash over him. He could see that she was overwhelmed with the situation, that this had happened in her school. On and off her eyes wandered to the offending teacher. Patricia Keener was sitting there, looking like the world crashed down around her. In fact it had crashed around her.
John sat next to her, her hand in his. He ignored the affronted and shocked looks.
Patty was a looker and in her twenties. Long waves of reddish brown hair, big dark eyes and a small curvy body, cafe au lait taint.
The complete opposite of Carter.
But then, Jacks type of woman was attractive and intelligent with a strong personality, the rest didn't really matter. That Sam and Sarah were the same type was just coincidence. He could certainly see what John saw in Patty.
The problem was Jack understood Ms Doyle. Really, had it been anybody else but John he would have done everything to bring the responsible teacher down.
But it was John. And it was different.
He would have been really disturbed had John told him about a new girlfriend aged 16.
"Ms Doyle, I understand your position in this. You want to do the best for your students and keep them safe. The idea that there is one of your teachers going after teenage boys is certainly distressing.
But to envision that John was a little innocent victim while big bad Ms Keener seduced him against his will is certainly wrong."
Ms Doyle couldn't believe what he was saying.
"Colonel O'Neill, just because John is an emancipated minor and very mature for his age, he is still a child and has to be protected. For you to indicate that he was in any way responsible, to blame the victim..."
"Ms Doyle, John certainly isn't a victim in this. I spoke with him before coming to you. He fell in love and courted this woman and she reciprocated his feelings. And while both knew they should have waited for him to be of age and her not being his teacher anymore, more happened. We aren't talking about a little hormone induced affair, they are in a real relationship. You can't really treat this as the same thing as a teacher taking advantage."
The principal didn't say anything else, just looking at him in total shock.
There had been one or two cynical voices before saying that they believed John to be the instigator in this and not Patty, mostly from his teachers. Not that he was the type to try to seduce somebody but because he was so mature you regularly forgot that you had a student before you, not a fellow adult. But to hear the same thing from his uncle was too surreal.
Whatever else would happen, Patty Keener would never teach in a high school again.
