Ann-Marie
Ann-Marie sat in the small room that the school used for guidance one-on-one. It sometimes doubled up as a room where teachers, including her, would invite a student’s parents in for a chat if their behaviour had warranted it.
The room was about three meters by three meters with a deep blue carpet and light blue walls. The only window was a large one that sat high up on the wall. Even at 5’10” she would need to tip her toes to see out of it. The only floor space taken up was by four steel chairs that could be stacked neatly onto one another; they sat facing each other, all four facing to a point in the middle.
She sat on the one facing the door, so the light from the window was on her back. It was the chair she preferred, so she could eye whoever was coming in and the light from the window seemed to always put her more in a position of dominance in the room. She checked her expensive gold watch and gave a short grunt that she was being made to wait. Passing the time, she waved some fluff from her grey skirt and onto the floor. Some of the bits were more stubborn, and she began to pick them with her nails before dropping them at a half arm’s length away and onto the carpet.
Jamie opened the door and waltzed in.
“Do you not know it’s appropriate to knock?” Ann-Marie charred.
The young skinny boy looked at her, slightly squinting from the daylight breaking through the window.
“Sure, but as I said, Miss, it’s more because I’m ballsy about things,” Jamie said.
She couldn’t help but smile at the comment; the smile betraying her and her attempts to be stern. She was going to give him into trouble for his behaviour; Earlier it had seemed so serious, but after he had explained that it was only because he was a ‘BALLSY’ kid, she had begun to re-think the offense should only warrant a small reprimand. In fact, she wasn’t one hundred percent sure she could remember exactly what he had done.
“Very well,” she moved on.
Jamie sat down opposite her.
“OK, take a seat. Why don’t you? Again, it is polite to be asked first Jamie”
Jamie shrugged. “It’s because I’m so ballsy Miss.”
She tried to hide the reappearing smile at the kid’s confidence. Even though none of the teaching staff liked the boy, she had found herself warming to him more and more since this morning. She pushed it from her mind and pressed on.
“Well, let’s get this started.” She shuffled on the seat, trying to get comfortable.
“You know why you are here; it could have been so much more serious” She racked her brain to remember the details of what had happened, her mind clouded, and she seemed to remember one of Jamie's classmates telling her that he had done something to her. It involved a recording on his phone and him sending it. It was the girl in underwear or something….. ‘No, that can’t be that. This chat isn’t that formal for something as serious as that. Was it?’ She questioned herself.
“You should be grateful…Oh, for goodness’s sake, stop fidgeting when I’m trying to talk to you Jamie” She lost patience with his fidgeting.
“Sorry miss it’s that sun” He stood up and took the chair to her left.
‘Ballsy, move coming closer, young man,' she thought.
She took a breath as he settled into the new seat.
“As I said, you should be grateful. I am not phoning your parents and dragging them down here…”
She caught him looking at her legs. Anger swelled in her before he looked at her face. Her eyes met his, and the anger was gone.
‘Little cheeky tyke, she thought. Again, a smile betrayed her.
She slightly twisted in her seat, bringing her legs around.
“Yes, your parents haven’t been told about your actions, but that could change” she tried to continue professionally.
He was blatantly staring at her legs now. The boy’s bravado was to be admired. She knew grown men who wouldn’t have been so bold.
“I appreciate you keeping it between ME and YOU miss”
Something in his voice hinted at a small flirtatious undertone. She prided herself on the students of the school being confident to tackle the world when they left, so it seemed OK that he was confident, even if ever so slightly inappropriate.
She slightly slid her skirt up to expose the bottom of her thigh just above the knee. Her skirt slid easily over the silk material of her stockings, another strange decision as she never wore stockings, but after chatting with Jamie this morning and after arranging this meeting, she had found time to nip to the local shops to buy a pair. His eyes widened.
She began again. “So, I really need some guarantees that this won’t happen again, or your parents WILL find out.”
“What guarantee can I offer, miss? You know, and the school is fully aware how ballsy I can be”?
He shunted his chair closer to hers.
‘Little bugger,' she thought. “Well, I really need something,” she said.
His hand moved to her knee.
“Mr Goldsmith, that is really inappropriate,” she rather reluctantly brushed his hand off. After all, he was a healthy, confident young boy, err man. She didn’t want to embarrass him or knock that confident charm of his.
“Forgive my forwardness Miss, when you said you needed something I misunderstood” his hand moved back to her knee “Or did I?”
‘Persistent’ came to mind. She smiled and was even slightly embarrassed that she had allowed the misconception that she somehow had started any advances.
She did not remove his hand on this occasion, and instead, she opened a small file that had been leaning against the leg of her chair. She began to flick through the offenses and complaints in the file directly relating to Jamie.
“Paula Sailsbury, her father, has made a serious accusation levelled at you.”
She felt him squeeze her knee and then move slightly higher to her thigh. A warm sensation began to flow inside her. His confidence was certainly an attractive quality, she thought as he began to explain.
“He doesn’t like that his spoiled, bitchy daughter has the hots for me. It’s a personal thing his daughter started.”
Dropping the sheet on the floor. ‘That girl had always been a spoiled rich girl,’ she remembered and agreed.
She began to read a more serious complaint from another girl who had said that somehow he had coerced her into giving him oral sex in the boy’s bathroom. The girl had not been back at school since yesterday through embarrassment.
His hand was now at her upper thigh.