/"To love and to be loved."/ When I first read this anonymous quote eight years ago, I laughed. I was fifteen and a freshmen in high school. Graduated from middle school, most of my peers would have cooed over the sentimentality; not to mention their hormones were racing for "that hot upper classman". Getting a taste of love- in my opinion, lust- didn't mean a damn to me. For me, there were two things which mattered- my studies and my family. Sadly, even the previous meant more to me than the latter. Don't call me conceited, yet, I considered myself smarter than my peers. Why? Well, namely I didn't contend with the bullshit of romance. I refused to let anyone new into my life. I solely wanted my full concentration and nothing more. The obstruction of anything different would hinder the progression of my future goals. However, that mindset crumbled in my junior year. Mid October was a busy month for me: absorbed in my AP classes, studying for mid-terms, and preparing for my senior year; nothing could alter my actions or thoughts. Even when the snotty prep girls squealed for a month about a foreign exchange student arriving by Thanksgiving, passed over my head without consideration. Alright, yes, I committed over-achievement-over-kill. But that was what I lived for, okay? Two days before Thanksgiving, I aced all my mid-terms and started looking ahead to Christmas break. No, no, not to relax and enjoy the three week vacation, rather, to study ahead. Last day before Turkey Break, I was walking past the office and noticed a young man I didn't recognize. I briefly wondered if he was the exchange student. Shrugging I continued onto AP Government. After the three day holiday, I was ready to return to school. Nothing gave me more comfort than sitting in class and listening to lecture. Of course in AP Government the Friday following break, our teacher introduced our new classmate. If the fact the prep girls were swooning doesn't alert you, the introduction was for the new kid. Feminine whispers and muted squeals rose throughout the room. When the teacher told the young man to sit in the desk beside me, a new clamor drifted into the air. I was oblivious to all the heated glares and spats of insults until... "Hi, nice to meet you. What is your name?" A blush colored my cheeks. Gazing side long I saw him smiling at me, patiently waiting. I absently flipped through my text book as I quickly whispered my name. "That's cute. I'm..." With my barriers down, his name infiltrated my head and wouldn't leave. Least to say, that day's class was uncomfortable. Over the next month, everyday in AP Government, new boy would greet me with a smile and ask me one question. The inquiries varied from what was my favorite color to what were my future plans. And they never followed a consistent basis. On a Wednesday two weeks before winter break he pleasantly walked into our shared classroom and entered his seat beside me. "Good afternoon." I nodded back, knowing what was coming next. A pause fell between us. "... Why... haven't you asked your daily question?" "Ah! I got you to speak to me first! Haha!" Consternation flashed in my eyes. He stopped laughing and looked at me with serious eyes. "Sorry, I wasn't mocking you. I just wanted to see if I had broken the ice with you." I blinked several times as my composure rippled. /Of course you have broken the ice. You seemed to know I was antisocial yet you are the first person to attempt to get through to me. To know me./ I cleared my throat and twirled my pencil between my thumb and index finger. "Do you have a boyfriend?" I fumbled my twirls. I actually turned to face him with such a personal question. /Why are you asking this? You typically ask impersonal, and frankly, standard questions. Why are you going personal?/ "No." The syllable slid from my lips before I could think further. He smiled and then gazed at the teacher as class began. That day in AP Government was the worst since he transferred to our school. "Ok, this week I need to review for Chemistry, World Literature, and Trig. Then, I will take time off for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Then the following week..." Hearing my name called from behind, my winter break study schedule was interrupted. Turning around, I saw through the snow flurries that constantly smiling face. "Sorry, I know I've already asked daily question. But I was wondering if I could ask you another." I blankly stared at the one person who knew how to make me confused, "Yes." My short answer broadened his smile, "May I have your phone number?" Eyes wide, and breathless, I couldn't speak much less look away. A sheepish grin tugged at the left corner of his mouth. Shivers traversed my body. /Why am I so nervous? He's just another human being. A human being I'm trying to treat like a difficult text book. Wait! Did I just think that!!/ "Here." His grin never faded as he handed me a small folded paper, "You seem taken aback. So I prepared." He winked at me, "Don't let the ice freeze over again," as he walked toward his bus. I stumbled onto my bus and plopped into my usual seat. I stared at the note, opened it with numb fingers, and sucked breath in sharply. /His phone number. Oh dear god!/ I laid my head against the window; never folding the note again. Well, the two days I had planned to "relax" for break didn't happen. My thoughts whirled uncontrollably that it was hard for me to study to forget about that dammed number and the boy who never stopped smiling. Upon returning to school the second week of January I told myself to put an end to this stupidity. I walked into class Monday afternoon, waited for him to show up, and rehearsed my speech in my head. Staring at the white board I didn't see him sneak past my gaze. "You called didn't you?" I jumped, making my desk hit the one behind me, "What?!" "I take that as a yes. You see, someone called and when I picked up no one answered. The other end was deathly quiet for two minutes before the person hung up." "How-" I couldn't believe he had known it was me. I was too nervous and shy to wish him a Merry Christmas. His sheepish grin appeared, "Well, family is the only people who have my number. And they always respond when I pick up." I just nodded, I couldn't say anything so I continued to stare at the white board. "You know, it isn't that big of a deal. I realize you are shy, and that is why I'm not pushing you or anything." /Goodbye shock absorbers!/ "It's... it's not really that. I'm just... I don't like to socialize. I prefer to study." "I understand. But, I hope I'm not intruding on you too much by trying to be friends." I finally turned to face him. How could I say no? How could I be mean to someone who was new to our school and trying to be friends with me when no one else had? The truth was... "No. No, I like you being nice to me." The teacher clapped his hands and class started. From that cold January day forward I couldn't ignore him. He had broken away my defenses and slowly persuaded me to let him in. Near the end of March everyone in school was chattering about prom and all the indiscreet things they were going to do. With everything else the school hosted, I didn't pay heed to the news. I just wanted to put cotton balls in my ears to block out the noise. However, the last day of March I was packing up my government books when he approached me. "Hey, can I bother you a second?" For the first time I smiled at him as I turned around, "You don't have to ask to talk to me." I got a glimpse of his shy smile, "Well then." He stepped closer as the last two people filed out of the room, "I have a very serious question for you." I cocked my head to the side, "What would that be?" A visible shadow fell across his features, "I know you hate school events, but if I asked you to go, would you go to prom? With me?" If I hadn't been so attentive on listening to him I would have visibly swooned. Truth be told, my soul did swoon. I was speechless for several minutes. He cast down his eyes and nodded. He readjusted his messenger bag before stepping around me. "...Wait." I spun around to see him stop at the threshold, "I... I... can go. I mean, yes, yes I will go." The relief that flooded his face made me want to sigh in relief. He nodded then took out his phone, "I'll call you sometime to make plans where to eat, etc. Ok?" I merely smiled and nodded. So yes, school sponsored activities were now a part of my agenda, at least in concern for prom. He called me a week later to discuss where we wanted to go for dinner and what time he should pick me up. When I told my mother I needed to buy a dress she squealed in delight and took me shopping that instant. Literally, that instant. Suffice to say my family, his family and he were all ecstatic. I hid my true feelings of course. But when I hung my long pale blue ball gown in my closet I felt happier than I had in years. April passed by with little change. Surprisingly none of the preppy girls found out about my agreement to go to prom. However, half the cheerleading squad, the athletic girls, and the two rich girls asked my date to prom. He politely declined with the cliché phrase, "I'm going with someone already." With that cliff hanger, Junior Prom arrived at the end of the month with nobody expecting me to show up. After an elegant Greek dinner and a beautiful flower hair comb added to my French braid, he drove us to the local college. The baby blue dress shirt with white tie under his black suit made him look like a fashion model. Comparatively, my dress of light blue with one shoulder strap and bodice top which flowed into an ankle length pleated skirt was modest. But he told me I looked like a completely different person. His compliments, and gentle grasp of my hand warmed me with acceptance. As we walked into the college ballroom, he never released my hand. He me directly to the dance floor as the first couple to start the evening swaying to the slow song. As the night progressed, we received stares and whispers of astonishment. One thing shocked and appalled me after Junior Prom- the idea of having a boyfriend. When he returned me home, I got my first kiss. And not to sound 80s esque, it was stellar. To the point, we were official and the news made front page of the social scene. Despite the heated glares from popular girls until graduation, I was truly happy. He was the perfect man for me. Through his love and devotion I became an alive and jolly person. Graduation arrived and ended, and we were still together. During the summer we spent weekends chilling and exploring our new found love. Mid July he sadly announced he had to "go back home". He dreaded the thought, visibly showed his reluctance but I told him "everything will be okay. Don't fret about a thing". He just hugged me tight with a ferocious kiss. One week later he was on a plane to his native land to visit family. We promised we would stay in contact via email- we never broke that promise. Three more weeks passed with only strained, cyber communication, however, we managed. That is, until the third week of August. The day before I left for college I received an email from an unknown user. Suspicious I opened the message suspecting it was spam. I almost blacked out after reading the first line. Several days later his body was brought back to my land, his adopted land. The funeral was murder for me. My heart splintered into so many pieces I swore I could never glue them back together. I suspended my entrance into college due to the severe depression and guilt which plagued me. The following spring, after a long and painful recuperation, I tee rolled to college and moved into my dorm. Despite my "mended heart" and "improved romantic feelings" I avoided love yet again. Once again I was a freshmen who hated love and studying was my life. For more than a year and a half I hibernated in my dorm room. Miraculously, my junior year I decided to take romance for a test drive. Throughout my Junior and senior years I nabbed a few boyfriends, but none of them lasted more than two or three months. I couldn't find a gentleman I had once known and loved. Disappointed, I reverted back to my studies, and hanging out with girlfriends. Now that graduation is around the corner I look forward to my career life. I have an offer for a good paying job which will provide a stable income for graduate school. At least with this job I'm not numb. I do t have to worry about intimate disheartenment and distrust. I can focus on my dreams. Yet, something tugs on my mind, something old and warm which changed me with a surprising gift and an uncertainty of ever finding it again.... "To love and to be loved."'
The teacher's work (first year) by anitopina, literature
Literature
The teacher's work (first year)
:"Tomorrow you'll start your first cycle as math teacher here in the school, are you ready mr. Jack?" I replied yes without any doubt but inside me I knew that things were gonna be not as easy as may everyone can think. My name is Jack and I'm 26 years old, despite being such young, I'm already married with Nora and we also have a 2 years daughter called Iris. I spent all my life studying, waiting for this moment and now I have to prepare my first lesson. Teaching at 6 years old kids is something that scare me a bit because for sure they're going to be amazed by the new context of the elementary school. Also talking with Nora, I chose to start my first lesson in a particular way: I'll measure the stature of every student in order to see how they're going to grow during these five years. My height is something that changed my life in different ways: for example I was always the last choice at volleyball during my years as student standing at only 1.53 meter when I was in high school and I didn't grow a lot as now I stand at 1.56 meter tall. My wife is completely different compared to me: she's blonde with blue eyes and has a huge D cup but the biggest difference is the stature because she's 50 centimeters taller than me standing at 2.06 meters tall. This is the trait that most characterize our relationship because for some things being over 2 meters tall is good but for other being tiny can also help. Our daughter seem more similar to Nora and she's almost 90 centimeters long. When I arrived in front of the school something was strange: there were only mothers with their daughters outside the huge gate. In front of the school there is a big garden which was very crowded waiting to enter. From my low perspective I had in front of me the backs of every mother. While I was trying to reach the gate to enter inside I hitted my face against an enormous ass, then I looked up and a woman looking down at me said:"what are you doing down there?" This lady was extremely tall and also the other women around her didn't reach her boobs:"sorry I'm a teacher, I was trying to enter in the school", laughing she said:"you? A teacher? Probably you are shorter than my 6 years old daughter; but I'll help you" meanwhile she was talking she picked me up like a baby and began to walk towards the building. From this new perspective I could see all the crowd and there weren't fathers but only mothers! Moreover there were around other 10 mothers as tall as the one who was lifting me or taller! :"I know tiny man what you want to ask me, I'm 2.88 meters tall but with 20 centimeters heels on today". I was used to live with Nora but this woman was ginormous and not even the tallest in the crowd. Finally I reached the gate and the director welcomed me:"hi Jack, you are going to be the first male teacher in this all girl elementary school". Before today I only talked with her through the smartphone or chat but I never saw her in person and she was taller than my wife! Define tall a person to me is easy but in a morning I saw only women taller than me:"wow I didn't know you were so tall director, nice to meet you!" Then she accompanied me to my class waiting for the little girls with their mums. The director explained that there are 4 primary classes this year and in every class there are 10 girls:"welcome girls, he's Jack your math teacher". Ten little girls entered in the room with their mums behind them and I could only admire them: three women were just a bit taller than me, around 1.65 meter tall; five were really tall standing at around 1.80/1.90 meter tall; the last two were literally huge and easily taller than the woman outside the school! The director approached the mums and if she was a lot taller than most of them, compared to the last two women she was tiny reaching the naive of one and the crotch of the other one! I was observing the scene and the most incredible fact was that their daughters were shorter than the other little girls:"you are so tall! How tall are you, because I'm 2.35 meters tall but I feel so tiny right now?" The director was as surprise as me and did exactly the question that I was thinking:"I'm Ally's mum and I'm 3.66 meters tall while my best friend and Kyla's mum is 4.57 meters tall". The tallest mum is literally more than 3 meters taller than me, moreover she's not skinny and her frame is incredibly big with her boobs that created a big shadow which covered the director. The moment of the roll call arrived and the list of names was in alphabetical order at every name the girls raised their right hand saying :"I'm here". So I started:"Ally, Becca, Chloe, Cora, Emily, Grace, Kyla, Leilani, Riley and finally Sadie". Looking at the students I also look at their mums and Sadie's one was easily the most beautiful: she's around 30 years old with long red hair, blue eyes and huge boobs that I extimated be an F cup comparing them to Nora's D cup, but what impressed me more was her height because despite Ally and Kyla mums she towered over the other and was around my wife's stature (2.06 meters) with heels on. Then the director announce the start of the lesson and the mums greeted their daughters going out the room. Now I was alone with my students so I started explaining the project for the next five years and then I proposed to create a wall with every girls height in order to see their growth during these years. Everyone was really happy and they were agree so in alphabetical order I measured their heights. Ally was the shortest standing at 1.04 meter tall, while the tallest was Emily standing at 1.22 meter tall; Becca and Riley were 1.15 meter tall, Chloe 1.18 meter tall, Cora 1.12 meter tall, Grace 1.14 meter tall, Kyla 1.08 meter tall, Leilani 1.18 meter tall and Sadie 1.13 meter tall. During the months the class became more and more close and in particular, seeing the girls everyday, Ally and Kyla were best friends and also the other students were all on good terms except for Emily. She's lithuanian and has difficults talking with her classmates moreover she kept growing a lot and now she's almost as tall as me! The other are still the same heights as the begin of the year but now Ally is taller than Kyla that now is the shortest standing at 1.10 meter tall. :"tomorrow you are going to do your first test of the year" at the news I saw the fear in their face and only Emily was happy. At the end of the lesson she came towards me and said:"teacher, can you measure me?" I was a bit surprised but I nodded and reading the measuring tape I was puzzled:"you are 1.48 meter tall Emily, you grew 26 centimeters in these months!" I didn't know how to react at the situation because this 6 years old girl was almost as tall as me! I returned at home and telling to Nora what happened at school she was speechless:"I still remember myself at elementary school and I ended the fifth year standing at 1.58 meter tall, I was taller than you Jack but Emily is going to be a lot taller than me in five years". For a moment I thinked about her being as tall as Nora or maybe taller then I was interrupted by Iris's cry. It's incredible that Iris at 2 years old is 88 centimeters long so only 22 centimeters shorter than Kyla who is 6 years old and has a 4.57 meters tall mum. The school started at September and now, 9 months later, my first year as teacher is ending. In february Cora had a sickness and missed all the month. When she returned she was completely different and from being around 1.20 meter tall, she grew 30 centimeters in just four weeks! Only Emily was taller than her. Today is the last day of school and as the first day I measured my students:"girls come here and we'll see how much you grew in 9 months". Since March I was used to don't be the tallest in the room but I never expected to have difficult measuring the height of a 7 years old girl. With Ally, Becca and Chloe I hadn't problem because they were respectively 1.16, 1.28 and 1.24 meter tall; but with Cora the problems began: she was taller than me and I couldn't read above her head at all so I stood on my tiptoes and finally I read:"1.63 meter tall Cora, you grew 51 centimeters in only nine months" the height difference between her and the other girls was comical except for Emily. If Cora had a huge growth spurt, she had a bigger one and to measure her I stepped on a chair:"you are 1.75 meter tall, for sure you had the biggest growth spurt with 53 centimeters". Subsequently there was Grace that stood at 1.32 meter tall, next to her Kyla was almost scared because, despite being inhabited to feel short at home, her mother is over four meters tall, she was really shy:"Kyla you are 1.12 meter tall but for sure you are going to grow in the next years". I was sure that probably before the last year of elementary she could become the tallest in the class, but actually she was the shortest and grew only 4 centimeters! Her head reached Emily's naive that looking Kyla a bit sad, hugged her creating an incredible scene because of the 63 centimeters difference. Leilani, Riley and Sadie were respectively 1.23,1.19 and 1.36 meter tall. Sadie didn't reach Emily's shoulders but she was the third tallest of the class. :"we'll see in september, happy holidays!" --------------------------------------------------- Jack (26) 1.56 meter Nora (26) 2.06 meters/D cup Iris (2) 88 centimeters Director 2.35 meters Ally's mum 3.66 meters Kyla's mum 4.57 meters Sadie's mum 1.95 meter Ally 1.04-1.16 Becca 1.15-1.28 Chloe 1.18-1.24 Cora 1.12-1.63 Emily 1.22-1.75 Grace 1.14-1.32 Kyla 1.08-1.12 Leilani 1.18-1.23 Riley 1.15-1.19 Sadie 1.13-1.36