Liquid Fire (2 page)

I returned to school on Tuesday, alone without Kate
, in the blue Mitsubishi Lancer 2007 model that I drove, all hotted up with a new body and all. Parsons had let me take the day off school. I had mostly spent it in my room when I got home, spinning my flick knife around and around. I had been wondering where it would land if I met the person that had killed Kate.

As I got out of the car most people avoided me, except
for my few close mates. Bret Jones, the big, burly, brown headed football forward and Casey Hawkins captain of the Chess Club. He often wore a bowl cut and didn’t have a particularly good time of things at home. Bret, Kate and I had made him feel wanted. Casey was one of the most loyal friends anyone could have.

Then there was me, just an all rounder in pretty much every field. Smart and topping most of my classes with straight A’s, I could do anything you wanted me to. Kate had rounded out the group, it was just us and the boys and without her here we didn’t feel complete.

We huddled inside the gate together for a moment, under our tree. Casey suggested we call it Kate’s tree from now on. Bret and I both agreed.  The three of us pressed further on into the school, barely saying anything to each other and people moved out of our way. Kate was a popular figure around our school and everyone had been touched by her in one way or the other.

It wasn’t until English in third period that someone explicitly made a mention of Kate. Ms Alexis Rain the tall, long legged, blonde teacher that couldn’t have been any more than twenty - five, stood up at the start of class and made a moving speech to us about what Kate had meant to her. By the end most of us were holding back tears, smiling at Ms Rain in appreciation. She was to present the same speech on the following week’s assembly that would be dedicated to Kate.

At th
e end of class she held me back. I knew what it was about. Ms Rain was a true born natural beauty, who had previously been married, but nobody dared asking what had happened.

Most of the guys throughout the school had tried to get with her at least once and would give up an arm or leg to feel her warm smile grace them.

“How are you feeling, Sam?” she asked obviously.

“Shit,” I grunted back.

“Well at least you’re honest,” she said with that little laugh of hers she did. “I’ll let you in on a secret because I was in the boat you’re in now a few years back. My husband died in Iraq; blown to pieces by a bomb. Another needless murder, but as each day goes on it gets easier. I remember the good times I had with him and try to honor him the best that I can. Come here,” she said holding out her arms towards me.

I looked confused, as she’d never hugged a student before. Regardless, I went for it and just being hugged by another person felt
good. Ms Rain was wearing a similar perfume to what Kate used to like, and I had to contain myself from going crazy.

“Thanks
, Ms. Rain,” I said to her sighing.

“It’s alright
, Sam,” she said patiently, still standing in the hug. “If you need anything you can come and see me anytime you need.”

I saw a lot in Sam Fanning. Not because he was the top of my English class, but from the get - go he was intense in everything he did. I first arrived at Hawthorne State High School back when Sam was in year eight. Sam had always been sweet and willing to lend an extra hand whenever I asked him for one, but from today on I felt a change in him. He ran into me that day, when he barely came up to my shoulder. He was always taller than average, but over the years he had caught up to me and the rest of the boys had caught up to him.

Whenever a student tried to come onto me
, I always laughed and told them not to worry about it. Sam was different though; he was one of the rare few that didn’t try to impress me. That in itself impressed me. After his lesson, I folded the paper that held my tribute to Kate carefully into my jacket pocket. I had started it as soon as I had gotten home from work and not slept until it was done. I didn’t regret getting only two hours sleep last night.

Each teacher at our school had a weekly check up with either the deputy principal or principal, and since it was Tuesday, today was my day. I sat cross legged across the desk from Jenna Rogers, deputy of our school. She was the complete polar opposite
of me in both appearance and emotions. While I was blonde, Jenna was a brunette and while I was slim, she was fat.

“You know what I’m going to talk about today
, Alexis,” she scowled across the desk at me.

If there was one thing I liked about Jenna it was her no bull shit attitude. She always cut straight to the chase and never left anything to chance. If Jenna wanted you to know something you’d know about it.

“I’m well aware of the situation, Jenna. I did this last night,” I said handing over the speech.

Jenna read over it, nodding her head in certain points, clearly impressed. It was a rare thing for her to
approve of something so readily.

“I didn’t expect something so moving so quickly
, Alexis. You’ve surprised me and done a good job. But what about Sam Fanning, he’s in your class is he not?” asked Jenna, staring down her exceedingly large glasses at me.

“I have him in hand, don’t worry
, Jenna,” I assured her.

“I’m worried
, Alexis. Sam is a model student in our school and we can’t have him fail especially in this vital year for him. We need to ensure that our community remains strong,” said Jenna.

“Don’t worry
, Jenna, I understand,” I said once again. “I’ll make sure Sam gets what he needs.”

“Good, I knew I could count on you
, Alexis. You should think about a Head of Department role, or Year Coordinator. Your work in the classroom goes above and beyond what we expect of our teachers. I’ll pass the recommend to Phillip,” said Jenna.

“Are you serious right now
, Jenna?” I asked. “That’s all I’ve ever wanted.”

“Of course I am. Phillip might not agree, we’ve already got good HODs in every area, but as soon as a position becomes available, I’m sure your name will be the first one up for selection.” Jenna smiled at me. “Anything you want to raise
, Alexis? You’ve been awfully quiet.”

“No
, Jenna, if it’s ok with you I’ll get going now. I’ve got a fair bit of marking to do,” I said.

She nodded understandingly at me. “Keep up the good work.”

The drive
in my black Nissan 350z was uneventful, back to my South Brisbane unit that almost had a decent view of Southbank. It was still the same apartment that my late husband Nathan and I had shared. Since his death I had always kept to myself, surviving on my above average wage for teachers thanks to my excellent efforts. His insurance fund had also helped me substantially.

Parking the Nissan in the underground car park
, I took the three flights of stairs to my apartment, lugging the massive folders full of student’s work. I would have taken the lift, but I liked keeping myself fit. My body was a temple, and I treated it with care. I didn’t drink or smoke nor did I take any kind of drugs save for medicine. On the weekends I went down to the Kangaroo Point cliffs and combined abseiling as well as rock climbing. Early parts of the term were spent teaching the kids from school how to climb until they advanced to a more intermediate course.

I had often seen Sam and Kate
around, as they spent days off in the parklands, soaking in the sunshine of Brisbane that reflected off the Brisbane River that ran right beside the walkway. Some parts of me smiled when I saw them together, while other times made it angry that they had what I had lost.

Throwing the books and folders down on the chair beside me, I
flopped onto my bed and sighed heavily. Today had been weary since the effort I had put in last night. I was going to make the school proud with that speech, judging from my year 12’s reactions. Tonight was going to be full of rest and relaxation for me and me alone.

I got up from the bed and went to the kitchen where I poured a glass of coke. The rich and bubbly flavor
hit me like it did every time. I took the drink back to my room and placed it on the bedside table, stretching out on the bed like a cat. My iPod dock was unattended, so I pulled my phone out of my pocket and slid it into place, pressing the play button. The mellow chords of
Sunsets
by Powderfinger escaped it. Of course it was the acoustic version, it calmed me down.

I arched my back, and pulled off my shirt.

I’d already removed my jacket, so I was now lying there in my long pants and bra. This was the favorite part of my day. I unclipped the bra from the front, and let my breasts spill out. I rolled the straps off my shoulders and let it fall to the floor. My nipples were already erect, probably because of the cold, but I didn’t care. The thoughts in my mind did nothing except make me even more aroused. They were old memories of what my Nathan used to do to me.

I could clearly see his tongue flicking in and out of me
and I clutched his head, moaning loudly.

My clit was throbbing against the fabric of my panties and I longed to rub it.
Playing with my breasts always came first, it just turned me on feeling my nipples roll through my fingers. My right hand found its way down my stomach, tracing the same path that his had done all those years ago. Instead, somehow I found myself thinking of Sam and his boyish face grinning up at me from down below.

I gasped and turned my thoughts back to Nathan, lying at the edge of the bed pulling my pants down, leaving me completely naked. Instead of Nathan’s tongue it was my fingers doing the work, causing me to moan. I had two on my clit, rubbing in a slow circle which only made me wetter.
It was amazing, touching myself, and my lips were drawn tight, trying not to let any moans escape. I was being a little silly since I was the only one in my apartment.

The first orgasm snuck up on me as I pushed my fingers in deeper and faster.
After each thrust in, I let my wrist flick a little bit. The thrust just happened to find my “G” spot. I moaned and lifted one leg up in the air, gripping it tightly, making the rest of my body tense. Finally the orgasm hit, rocking through my body, and I felt my fingers instantly soaked in another warm, wet wave. My back arched and I pushed my head back into the pillow. I muttered a small “fuck” before pausing.

Stopping gave me a moment to recollect myself and readjust my thoughts. I searched in my mind for new material that would help me climax once again and this time, my thoughts landed on Sam. They didn’t change. All I could see was his grinning boy like face and his whippy blonde, surfer like hair.

I could see his rock hard abs glistening in the sun as he tore his shirt off to dive into the pool while I supervised his year group during their end of semester free dive. The only thing I could visualize was him inside me one way or the other, as I moaned to myself, feeling another orgasm on the horizon.

By now
, I had three fingers buried knuckle deep, as I kept increasing speed. My clit was aching and I continued to rub with my thumb until the second orgasm hit me, even longer than the first. This time for sure, I thought, the people next door would hear, and I could feel my heart beating at a million miles an hour. I raised my leg again, with some difficulty. It was aching from the constant tense it had been in. Flicking my wrist the next orgasm rocketed through me quickly.

It was longer than the last two and I couldn’t take anymore. I felt shattered
, and my breathing was nothing more than panting now. I weakly sat up, using the pillows to support my shaking body and took a drink. My clock now read four fifteen and I was shocked. It had been half an hour since I started.

“Fuck I need Sam,” I whispered to myself. I licked my fingers clean,
and then stepped into the shower to properly clean off. 

As I stepped out of the shower
, after playing with myself a bit more, thanks to the warm water, I saw the solution to my problem. My folders were on the small desk across the room and somewhere inside that folder was Sam’s latest essay.

It was back to business as usual for the rest of the week.
I didn’t have Sam and his class until Friday. Since I had little self control I may or may not have thought about Sam in a similar way since Tuesday afternoon. I wore a long flowing tight fitting blue dress, just for something different with a simple golden chain around my neck.

A few of the boys wolf whistled when I turned my back. I snapped back around, knowing who the culprits were and glared them down. Sam was sitting beside Bret and Casey, as what seemed to
be the norm. It was good he had friends like that to stick by him in times like these when he needed them the most.

Since I had been distracted, I handed back what essays I had completed. Sam’s was among them, however I didn’t hand it back to him. Not just yet anyway. There was mixed reactions of excitement from the ones that received high marks and disappointment from the others who had not gotten theirs back. Clearly they didn’t understand I had a life outside marking. And
by a life I meant masturbating over my favorite student.

Today we were starting this terms focus reading, which was
Eragon
. I’d read it when it had first ventured onto the bookshelves and fell in love with it. I will admit I found the ending of the
Inheritance Cycle
pretty weak. All of the build up and that then happened? Seriously, what the fuck? But fantasy and romance make me weak at the knees when it comes to reading.

Instantly the room was out of control, with protests of students having read the book already, or the girls complaining they hated dragons.

“Listen up you lot!” I half shouted. The students fell silent quickly. I never shouted. “This is what has been assigned to our class. Would you rather be doing
Harry Potter
,
Looking for Alibrandi
or some other crap like that?”

The class sat there stunned. It was either because I was yelling or because I hated
Harry Potter
. I couldn’t work out which one it was. Using the silence to my advantage, I pressed on, instructing the class on how they would go about the assessment.

Once it had been explained, they had accepted it
well enough, and I had offered bribes for anyone that did a certain amount of reading each night. It’s what got them through it quicker, so I continued to do it. The class went faster than expected, and the bell shocked my system.

Once most of the students had left the class, I caught Sam’s gaze lingering on me. Whether he was perving or not I couldn’t tell. Either way I beckoned him over with one finger as he rolled his bag onto his back. I stood up straighter as he approached me and clutched his essay in my hands. Sam looked at me confused.

“You wanted to see me
, Ms. Rain?” he asked.

“I did
Sam, it’s about your essay.” I turned it around and showed it to him.

“
How the fuck?” he muttered, taking it from me.

Above the title in the top right hand corner I had left a large red
,
F
. Sam ran one hand through his sandy hair, which caught the light; I felt my heart skip a beat. This boy was really getting to me now if I was starting to lose control over him doing something that simple.

“I don’t know
, Sam, it wasn’t up to your usual standard,” I said. In fact I was lying. This essay was some of the best work Sam had ever produced, but I had to get him alone with me somehow.

“Miss Rain, how is this even possible. I spent at least two solid weeks perfecting this,” protested Sam. “You haven’t even given me any feedback.”

“That’s because I didn’t know what to put without hurting you. I told you on Tuesday I want to help you and I think this is a perfect opportunity for me to start,” I said rubbing his shoulder.

“You’ll help me get my marks back up? With this F they’ll have taken a big fall,” said Sam.

“To get my average back, I’ll have to work hard.”

“Look
, Sam, I’ll give you my number and my address. Do you think you could come over this afternoon sometime and we could start work then?”

“Never too early to start,” said Sam enthusiastically.
“Is four ok for you?”

“Great
, yeah that’s fine,” I said smiling, turning to pack up my things.

“Well
, I’ll see you then,” said Sam.

He
exited the room, however didn’t slide the door all the way shut. Bret was waiting for him.

“Dude she gave me an F,” said Sam.

“What, how the fuck man? I basically copied your essay and got an A minus,” I heard Bret whisper.

“Hey not so loud, she still might hear us,” Sam shot back.

I scowled at the unseen boys. The school had a strong policy against plagiarism and I would be sure to bring it up in the next lesson. I didn’t want to be that one teacher a year who had students plagiarizing under their nose. Since it was Friday, the seniors got an early mark while I still had to stay for my junior afternoon class.

It was going to be an even longer and boring Friday afternoon than usual.

The final bell rang and I was relieved! It felt like I was in high school again and Sam was my
eighteen year old boyfriend, waiting for me. The class had been let out five minutes early, so I would have been the first one into the car park. I would have made it if not for Jenna who spotted me first.

“Alexis
! What are you doing letting your class out five minutes early?” she demanded.

“I’m so sorry Jenna!” I
replied. “It’s just that I’ve got a date at three thirty and I’m afraid I won’t make it!”

“You are aware that this is a violation of student welfare and these kinds of violations are taken very seriously here at Hawthorne?” asked Jenna
, staring through her glass at me.

“Yes Jenna, I’m sorry
, this won’t happen again,” my heart was in my throat and the thought of Sam was driving me stir crazy. I needed this job.

“Who’s the lucky gentleman?” said Jenna suddenly.

The question caught me off guard. Jenna had never cared for any teacher or what they got up to outside of school, unless it was for a job interview.

“Oh, nobody really,” I smiled nervously.
“He’s just a guy, with a job. Just in town for work, and I met him at a bar. There isn’t much to it really.”

“Alright I’ll leave you off the hook this time, but the next time you’re on suspension
. Now get out of here and enjoy yourself,” she said swinging her arms at me.

I dived i
nto my car to avoid getting hit. I was straight back on the road to South Brisbane. The school traffic was light and I had timed my run almost perfectly, skipping straight through the suburbs, barely stopping. Whipping the Nissan into my parking spot I didn’t even bother grabbing my work out of it at first. I stupidly raced back to it, thinking I was an idiot.

Finally
, I burst into my apartment and rapidly started to address the clutter. Dashing around trying to fix the mess in a dress and heels was difficult so I stripped down to my bra and undies, making my speed double.

The doorbell rang and it was five to four.
SHIT! I hadn’t even gotten dressed yet! “In a minute!” I shouted in the direction of the door.

I had dressed faster than ever before into a simple tank top and gym shorts. I don’t know why, but it was too late now. Sam was at the door. I sprinted across the room to open it.

“Hi!” I said swinging the door open.

“Hi!” replied Sam smiling back at me.
“Uh bad time?”

“No, no
, these were just the first things I felt comfortable in. Why don’t you come grab a seat? I’ll get us a drink,” I said still beaming, not believing my luck.