Date: Thu, 25 Jul 2013 17:34:29 -0400
From: numlfl C <numlfl@hotmail.com>
Subject: Bridget's Awakening

This story is the property of the author. You may keep a copy on
your computer for personal enjoyment, however if you wish to publish or
distribute the story then you must get the permission of the author.


Bridget's Awakening


      	Bridget pulled into the school's parking lot and turned off the
engine.  She sat there for a moment looking at the old building that housed
the private school that she was about to start her teaching career. She
opened her purse looking for her cigarettes before remembering that she had
quit two weeks ago.  She so wanted and needed one at that moment to calm
her nerves.

      Her mind went back to when she had flown from her home in South
Boston for her interview with the principal of the school. She had been
looking for a teaching job all of the spring semester of her senior year of
college and then through the summer. She was about to give up and find a
job at some fast food place to pay off her college loans when Ms. Powers
called her. She didn't even remember applying to this private school
located about an hour's drive north of San Francisco. She had to borrow
money from her oldest sister to get here as her mother didn't want her baby
girl to move so far away from her. She wasn't so sure that she wanted to
live in California either but something told her to come and see what it
was all about.

      She had done her research on the school before flying out for the
interview. It was located on and run by a small private college which was
conservative in its teaching, something she was surprised to learn since it
was located in California and so close to San Francisco. She had thought
that everyone that lived there was very liberal which wasn't the way she
was raised. She came from a very strict Catholic family and was raised that
way. There was a very rich donor to the college who seemed to direct
everything and funded everything that went on at the college and thus the
grade and high school that was located in the building that she was
currently looking up at.

      The principle of the school Ms. Powers had met her at the airport and
driven her to the school. Ms. Powers was a tall stout woman with short gray
hair.  Bridget figured her to be in her mid sixties and she found that she
was actually sixty-one on the ride to the school. Ms. Powers mostly told
her about her own teaching career as she drove them. She had taught in the
public schools in Maine for thirty years before having to take an early
retirement when the county's budget got cut. Then about five years ago, she
was asked to come out to run this school and she figured that the change
would do her good. Bridget liked this woman but she got the impression that
Ms. Powers ran the school her way no matter what the schools and college's
benefactor said so she knew that if she took the job, she would have to
follow Ms. Powers rules but then she didn't think that would be a problem.

      Ms. Powers started with a tour of the school, which was the start of
the official interview. However Bridget had gotten the correct impression
that her interview had started as soon as Ms. Powers introduced herself at
the airport.  She started the tour on the first floor where the
kindergarten through the fourth grade was located. The building was old but
Bridget was impressed at how it had been modernized. All the classrooms had
computers and all the other things that a brand new school would have. She
met the teachers who were getting their classrooms ready for school to
start in a short two weeks. They next went to the second floor where grades
fifth through eighth were located. Again the classrooms were modern and the
teachers were nice.

      It was here that she met the science teacher for the seventh and
eighth graders. Ms. Powers told her when she introduced her to Ivy that Ivy
had been there for three years, having come straight from college thus
Bridget found out that Ivy was only three years older than she.  Ivy was
slightly taller than her own five-eight and she had short brownish blond
hair that was cut so that it barely covered her neck. She had her hair
casually tucked behind her ears and parted on the top right side.

      Ivy's body also was like her, not exactly slim but not by any means
fat either. She had a nice rounded body that carried her few extra pounds
well.  Her hips were slightly larger than her own hips however it was Ivy's
C cupped breasts that drew Bridget's attention and without realizing it,
she actually let the tip of her tongue move across her lips. She saw that
Ivy smiling at her while Ivy talked about the school which Bridget didn't
catch all of what she was saying. Bridget thought that she was very
attractive which caused her some discomfort and left her with feelings that
she rather not have. Ms. Powers only allowed her to talk to Ivy for a few
minutes before continuing the tour.

      The high school portion of the school was located on the top two
floors of the building. It would be here that she would teach all the math
related classes should she be offered and she accepted the teaching
position. Again Ms. Powers introduced her to the other teachers, a mix of
older and younger teachers, however Ms. Powers spent most the time there
showing off the math classroom.  Bridget was more than a little impressed
by what she would have to work with.  Instead of a chalk board that some of
the classrooms that she did her student teaching in, this had a large
screen TV hooked up to a new laptop that she could use to teach her
students. It would be something to get used to but she was excited by the
idea. If Ms. Powers was trying impress her, she was doing a great job at
it. Ms. Powers finally ended the tour, taking her down to her office.

      Ms Powers' office wasn't anything fancy; it had a few straight back
chairs for guests to sit and a large imposing desk with a nice
chair. Bridget figured the office was set up that way to put a bit of fear
into any students who found themselves there for something other than good
behavior.  There was also an old wooden paddle hanging on the wall behind
Ms. Powers' desk that she was sure she had put there for a purpose. She
doubted that it had ever been used but the students didn't know that. She
had to give Ms. Powers credit for the way she had her office set up.

       Ms. Powers went right for the coffee pot pouring two cups of coffee
for them to drink.  Though she wasn't a big coffee drinker, she accepted it
all the same. She would have at least have had some cream and sugar to put
in it but Bridget noticed that neither was sitting on the small table
holding the coffee maker. Ms. Bridget obviously drank her coffee black and
thus so did anyone who drank any with her.

      "So what do you think of our school?" Ms Powers asked after sitting
down in her big executive chair behind her desk.

      "I love it, it has everything that a teacher could ask for and
everyone seems so nice." Bridget told her honestly.

      "They are, we do have a great staff, I was very careful in who I
chose to teach here. The old bastard that supports this university and also
our little school gave me free reign as to whom I wanted to teach here and
I take full advantage of him." Ms. Powers told her and as she said that
last sentence, Bridget could also see a bit of a devious grin come to
Ms. Powers face.

      "Well I think I would like to teach here," Bridget told her feeling
nervous about saying that but she did feel that way.

      "You wouldn't mind moving so far away from your home?" Ms. Powers
asked critically. "From what I can see, you've never been far from home;
you even went to college close by."

      "I know, my mom didn't want me to go too far away," Bridget said
feeling foolish saying that but it was the truth.

      "How would your mother feel about you moving across the country to
teach here?" Ms. Powers asked.

      "She would be pissed at me," Bridget said with a little laugh.

      "I see," Ms. Powers said with a bit of a frown, "Pissed enough to
keep you from taking the job?"

      Bridget had to think for a moment because she was wondering if
Ms. Powers was asking her what she thought she was asking, "Are you
offering me the job?"

      "I might be, but I want to hear your answer first. I don't want to
have to replace you two weeks into the school year because you got homesick
for your mamma," Ms Powers stated straight faced.

      The comment sort of pissed Bridget off, "If you hire me, you'll have
to fire me to get rid of me." Bridget said forcefully as she looked
Ms. Powers in the eye and she didn't look away thought her stomach was
churning and she felt like running from the office.

      "That's what I wanted to hear," Ms. Powers said to her finally
smiling but then her face turned serious again. "The first day of classes
is in two weeks that should give you enough time to move out here and find
a place to live. There's an apartment complex near here that a lot of the
teachers live in, I'm sure that you can find an apartment there that you
can afford. And I would like to have you here before school actually starts
so that you can get your classroom in order."

      "Thank you Ms Powers, I appreciate you giving me this chance, I won't
disappoint you." Bridget said standing up and holding out her hand to
Ms. Powers who shook it with a firm grip.

      "I don't expect you to disappoint me," Ms Powers said before
releasing her hand.

      "I won't," Bridget said happily but she also felt the beginnings of
butterflies in her stomach as she realized that she would be moving far
from her home to start her teaching career. The moving far from home didn't
bother her as much as her fear of failing as a teacher.

      Then a question came to Bridget's mind and she asked it before she
could stop herself, "Was there many applications for this job?" She so
wanted to take the question back but it was too late now.

      "Why do you ask?" Ms. Powers asked in return with her face not
indicating anything as to how much Bridget had hurt her chances of keeping
the job that she had just gotten.

      "Just curious as to why you would choose me, someone who had never
taught before and someone from way back east with a definite Boston accent,
I'm sure that there were many teachers from this area who you could choose
from." Bridget told her.

      Ms. Powers then let out a smile, that same curious smile that she had
let out before, "Actually there were hundreds of applications that I had to
chose from."  She told her.

      "Then may I ask why me?" Bridget asked, "It's not that I'm not
grateful because I am but I have been on a lot of interviews, some I had to
go back and re- interview and I didn't get the job. Why did you choose me
after such a short interview?"

      "Because I did my research and your professors said that you'd make a
great teacher one day and the teachers that you did your student teaching
with loved you." Ms. Powers told her and then she paused for a moment and
with a slight smile she added. "And I think that there's something special
about you that will fit in nicely here at our school."

      "Oh okay," Bridget said wondering just what the special thing about
her that Ms. Powers was talking about but she knew better than ask any more
questions. Ms. Powers could always change her mind and she didn't want that
to happen.

      "Any more questions?" Ms. Powers asked with that ever present frown
returning to her face.

      "No, I'm good." Bridget said to her.

      "Well when are you flying back out?" Ms. Power's asked.

      "Tomorrow morning," Bridget told her.

      "Well how about me taking you to that apartment complex and see if we
can find you an apartment to live in." Ms Powers stated.

      Bridget felt like it was more of an order than an offer but she would
need a place to live and she didn't have much time to find one. "Sure that
sounds great."

      "Okay let's get going," Ms. Powers stated as she stood up. "Oh let me
give you a packet of rules and regulations that our benefactor insists that
we follow."

      "Thank you, I'll read them over tonight," Bridget said taking the
large, thick packet of papers.

      Ms. Powers took Bridget back out to her car, telling her more about
the school that she would soon be teaching at. While the small private
university had been around for years, the school was only about ten years
old. Once the benefactor for the university had entrench himself with the
university making it very conservative in a liberal state, he decided that
what the community needed was a school that would get to the younger kids
before they got to liberalized by their parents. When the first principal
retired, the benefactor went looking for another one that saw things as he
did. Ms. Powers then flashed a rare smile as she told about needing a
change in her life so she talked her way into the job. Bridget knew that
there was something about Ms. Powers that made her wary of her but there
was also something that made Bridget like her.

      The apartment complex was about thirty minutes from the school. It
was eight stories high with the larger apartments on the higher floors and
the smaller and thus cheaper ones on the lower two levels. With the student
loans that Bridget had to pay off, she didn't bother looking at the larger
and more expensive apartments. She just wanted something small that she
could afford and she told Ms. Powers that.

      So Ms. Powers directed Bridget to one of the studio apartment located
on the second floor. It came furnished with a double bed, sofa, small
kitchen table, with a small stove and refrigerator all in one room with a
small bathroom attached.  It was a little small but Bridget had just spent
the last four years living in a dorm room so compared to that, this place
was huge. Bridget loved the place as soon as she saw it and the bathroom
had an old tub and shower combination so that she would be able to take
baths again, something that she loved to do.

      "I love it but how much is the down payment and the rent?" Bridget
asked Ms. Powers.

      "Don't worry about that, this placed is owned by the tenants and run
by a board. I think that we can work something out with them." Ms Powers
told her giving her another one of her rare smiles.

      "I appreciate that but I really need to know what I'm committing
myself to before I actually commit," Bridget told her.

      "Mmmm, I respect that, let me make some calls and I'll bring over a
lease agreement in the morning, in the meantime, you can stay here tonight
to see if you like it. There is no commitment, how about that?" Ms. Powers
told her.

      "I think I can live with that," Bridget said knowing that if the
price was anywhere close to being affordable, she was going to take it.

      They then went down to Ms. Powers' car to get Bridget's bag before
Ms.  Powers took on off leaving Bridget with the key to the
apartment. After Ms.  Powers had left, Bridget realized that she had no way
to return the key and she figured that Ms. Powers already knew that she
would take the apartment.

      She went back to the apartment, checking things out until she could
call her oldest sister Mary to tell her how things went. Mary was excited
for her and promised to help her out and also get the rest of their
siblings to pitch in. They both knew that their mom would be against the
move and would not help. Later that afternoon, Ms. Powers sent her an email
telling her how much the apartment would cost her and it was more than
reasonable, in fact it was very cheap. Ms.  Powers also said that she would
arrange to have the utilities changed over to her name so she wouldn't have
to worry about that.

      That night she read over the papers that Ms. Powers gave to her and
some surprised her, especially the part that stated that evolution could
only be taught as a theory and also creationism had to be taught too. This
Bridget thought was silly but it was something her mom would agree
with. But since she taught math then she didn't have to worry about
that. But there was one thing that did catch her attention and that was
something she was doing right at that moment which was smoking which wasn't
allowed. But then she had picked up smoking as a way of revolting against
her overbearing mother who still didn't know she smoked. But Bridget knew
she needed to quit so this was a good reason to do so.

      The week she spent at home was as bad as she thought it would be with
her mom making her go with her to church and confession everyday that she
was there.  Bridget couldn't wait to get out of there and after borrowing
money from all of her brothers and sisters she was able to get her old car
fixed up and still have enough over to get started with her new life in
California.

      She got her brain back to the present before picking up her purse and
heading into her new school and her new career. She felt the butterflies in
her stomach and she hoped that her new students wouldn't be too hard on
her. She knew her stuff but she also knew that all students would test her
with her being new and so young. But she hoped that being young would also
work in her favor.

      Ms. Powers was standing out front greeting the students as they
entered the building for the new school year. She had that frown on her
face as she seemed to always had, at least, as far as when Bridget had been
with her, however she did greet each of the kids by name. While the school
was small there were still over four hundred kids to greet so Bridget was
impressed that Ms. Powers could remember all their names. Bridget did
notice that when she greeted the younger ones, she did so with a smile but
the frown came out with the older ones to keep them in line. Ms. Powers did
break out a smile for Bridget and that calmed her nerves a bit.

      Bridget when straight up to her classroom, putting her purse into her
desk and then opening up the laptop on her desk and getting it set up. She
had a few minutes to get more nervous as she waited for her first class to
start. Slowly her students started to trickle in. She pretended to work but
she kept an eye on her students. They mostly came into the room in pairs
talking away. She saw that while they tried not to pay any attention to
her, she did see them glance her way, trying to measure her up as she
measured them. The class was a freshmen math class, mainly for students
that had trouble with math. She noticed that there were more females in the
class than males and that bothered her.

      Soon enough the bell rung and the class kept talking ignoring the
bell and her. Bridget took in a deep breath before standing up and walking
to the front of her desk. The students kept talking, ignoring her and
Bridget knew that it was her first test but she was ready. One of the
teachers that she had done her student teaching under had told her that she
had to get her student's attention right off but then she had to keep
it. So she let them talk for a moment more letting them think that they
were succeeding, she even tepidly cleared her voice which had no effect as
she knew it wouldn't. After a couple o minutes she reached into her pocket
of her dress slowly pulling out a small air horn. No one noticed it, that
is, until she gave a short burst. That got her student's attention as well
as several screams.

      "Now that I got your attention, I'm Ms. Dail and this is freshman
math. I plan on making this class fun and by the end of the semester; I'll
be able to show the importance of math is in your life and how much fun
math can be." Bridget said to them with a smile on her face.

      "Fat chance of that," a blue haired girl on the right side of her
classroom said very sarcastically.

      Bridget didn't let that remark get to her; instead she walked over to
the girl while holding onto the little air horn. She saw the girl lean back
in her seat fearful that Bridget was going to let go with another blast of
the air horn.

      "What's your name?" Bridget asked of her.

      The blue haired girl eyed Bridget and then the air horn before
saying, "Becky Wilson."

      "I'll tell you what, if at the end of the semester, you still feel
like math is unimportant and no fun, then I'll let you color my hair blue,
just like yours." Bridget told her straight faced.

      "Seriously?" Becky asked while a bit of a devious smile came to her
young face.

      "Seriously," Bridget told her and then she heard a "Cool" come from
male voice from the other side of the room.

      "This will be fun," Becky said talking about the idea of getting to
color the new teacher's hair blue and not the math class but Bridget
understood that.

      "But I do have one condition," Bridget told her.

      "That figures," Becky said with a frown.

      "Don't worry, it's not much of a condition," Bridget told her, "All I
ask is an honest effort on your part, give me a chance to prove
myself. That's not much to ask is it?"

      Becky hesitated as she thought it over before she said, "Okay."

      "Good," Bridget said holding out her hand to Becky who hesitated
another second before taking it and giving it a good shake.

      Bridget felt good about her start; she had their attention and also
got them curious about her.

      She started to walk back to the front of the class when Becky asked,
"And what happens if you're right not that you will be?"

      Bridget turned back around and gave Becky a big smile as she said, "I
get to color your hair."

      "What color?" Becky asked and Bridget knew Becky expected her to say
something boring.

      "Mmmm..." Bridget said as she paused for a moment making Becky worry,
"What do you think class? What color should I color it?" this, she hoped
would bring the rest of the class onto her side.

      There was some hesitation in the class before someone shouted out
Blond which got boos and a bit of laughter. Then all types of colors came
from her student's mouths, even a few from Becky. The class finally settled
on hot pink which Becky frowned upon hearing but she agreed.

      Bridget then got the class started by call roll and she tried to
place a face with each name. She did get lots of moans when she said that
she was going to start the class with a pop quiz. But then she assured them
that it was only for her to determine what each one of them knew and didn't
know. That didn't help much but she got them to take the quiz. Once they
were finished, she went back to the front of her desk, where she started
her class not by teaching them any math but asking them where they might
use math when they got out of school. No one really said anything so she
began to go around the room asking her students what they planned on doing
and she gave them a few examples where they would need to know math. Soon
she had the class interested and they were telling her what they wanted to
do and she got them to think of how they would have to use math. When the
class ended, she felt like she had a start on winning them over, even blue
haired Becky had joined in.

      "You know, you're going to look great with blue hair," Becky said to
her as she passed by Bridget's desk though she didn't say it sarcastically.

      "And you'll look even better with hot pink," Bridget told her and
that got a smile from Becky.

      Bridget then knew she had won round one with Becky but there was a
long way to go yet. She still might end up with blue hair by Christmas. Her
next class was an advanced math class with all seniors in her class. These
students were smart and challenged her in a different way. They were eager
to learn either because they loved math or knew they would need it for
college. However she did have to use her air horn to get their attention
away from their phones and friends to get the class started.

      The rest of her day kept her going, even her lunch period was spent
looking over the pop quizzes she had given and getting ready for her next
class. She quickly saw that she had her work cut out for her in first
period class. But that just made her more determined to teach them what
they needed to know. And Becky, she saw, needed a lot of help. But she
wanted to get through to this girl and she would or die trying.

      After the last class ended, she let out a big sigh as she realized
just how taxing the day had been. She felt drained and she wanted to get
home and try to relax. She wanted a bath in the worst way but what she
wanted most was a cigarette. She knew that she shouldn't but at that
moment, she felt like she could eat one. She got her purse and started out
of her classroom only to see Ms.  Powers walk into her room. She was the
last person that she wanted to see but Ms. Powers was her boss and if the
boss wanted to talk then what could she do.

      So she was forced to talk to her for another twenty minutes. Ms
Powers brought up the air horn and Bridget figured that she would be mad at
her but she wasn't. She liked the idea of getting the students attention,
especially her first class whose worse subject was math. Bridget was happy
to hear that Ms. Powers wasn't mad and after her second class, she didn't
have to use it as it had obviously gotten around and each class there after
kept an eye on her hands as soon as they entered the classroom.

      She did eventually make her way out of the classroom and the school,
going straight to her car to go home. She got started down the highway
thinking about her first day as a teacher. She had been tense and nervous
all day and though her day had ended well, the tension and nervousness was
still there. She had only gone a couple of miles down the highway when she
spotted a gas station ahead and she remembered that it also had a little
store. Her mind was telling her to press down on the gas pedal and speed on
past it but another part of her brain sent a signal down to her right leg
forcing it to ease up on the gas and then she turned on the left side hand
signal. She pulled in, going to the far side of the store.

      She was already feeling guilty for what she was about to do, but she
so needed that cigarette, even going to the point of convincing herself
that after a successful first day, she deserved a reward. She told herself
that she would smoke one and then throw the rest of the pack away. She
looked around and not seeing anyone that she recognized, she got out of her
car hurrying into the store.  She went straight to the counter and asked
for her brand of cigarettes. She smoked an off brand of menthol
cigarettes. She was a bit surprised that they had her brand, though it did
cost a lot more than they did back east. She paid for the cigarettes and
hurried back to her car.

      She looked at the cigarette pack for a second before she let out a
sigh and she gave into her need. She opened the pack and got into her purse
for her lighter which she still carried. She put the cigarette into her
mouth and lit it. She sucked the smoke and she immediately found herself
relaxing as the nicotine did its work.  She put her head back against her
seat and closed her eyes as she took another hit off of her cigarette.

      She had only inhaled a couple of times on her cigarette when she
heard a feminine voice coming in from right outside her window, "You know
if Ms. Powers finds out that you smoke, she'll fire you."

      "What?" Bridget said opening her eyes and about dropped her lit
cigarette into her lap. She looked out her window to see Ivy, the science
teacher for the seventh and eighth grades looking back at her. She could
only see her head and neck, as Ivy was obviously squatting down beside her
small car. She at first thought that Ivy was messing with her but then she
saw that she had a serious look on her face.

      "I said that Ms. Powers will fire you if she catches you smoking, you
know that's against the rule for teachers," Ivy told her in all
seriousness.

      "Are you going to tell on me?" Bridget asked now really needing a
puff on her cigarette but fearful to do so not that it would matter, she
was already caught.  She couldn't believe that she was going to be fired on
her second day of her teaching career by something that she had first
thought was nice but obviously wasn't.

      "Well that depends..." Ivy told her.

      "Depends on what?" Bridget asked suspiciously.

      "On if you'll have dinner with me tonight," Ivy told her without a
smile or a hint that she was messing with her.

      Bridget couldn't believe that Ivy was blackmailing her into dinner
and she just wondered why Ivy wanted to have dinner with her. All types of
things went through her head as she tried to figure just what Ivy was up
to. She knew her face showed her confusion as she tried to figure this
woman out.

      "Tell you what, while you're thinking, why don't you give me a
light," Ivy said as she brought a cigarette to her lips that Bridget saw
was like her own cigarette.

      "Got ya!" Ivy said then broke into a horse laugh as she grinned at
Bridget whose jaw was still in her lap. "Hey open your door and let me get
in so we both don't get fired by Ms. Powers tomorrow." She said as she
stood up and went to the passenger side of the car. Bridget started not to
let her in but she hit the button that unlocked the door for Ivy who slid
into the seat.

      Bridget looked at Ivy and got a little pissed at her joke so she hit
her on the shoulder.

      "Ouch! That hurt!" Ivy said rubbing her arm but she still had a shit
eating grin on her face.

      "It was meant to; you scared the shit out of me!" Bridget said
seriously, "I thought that you were serious and I was going to be fired."

      "I'm sorry but the temptation was just too great. I saw you there all
relaxed enjoying that cigarette so much. I just couldn't resist." Ivy said
as her face turned a bit more serious.

      "You're not forgiven," Bridget told her as she threw the last of
cigarette out the window and brushed the ashes off her dress. She then
pulled another from her pack and lit it as she really needed one now. She
looked over at a contrite Ivy who gave her a soft smile so she leaned over
and lit her cigarette.

      She watched as Ivy inhaled deeply and then blew out the smoke and she
knew that Ivy did smoke and had smoked for a while. "You know I was serious
about having dinner with me tonight." Ivy told her.

      "Why do you want to have dinner with me?" Bridget asked.

      "To welcome you to the school and to our apartment building," Ivy
told her.

      "You live there too?" Bridget asked.

      "Yeah, on the third floor, I got a one bedroom apartment." Ivy said
with a smile.

      "That's cool, you like it there?" Bridget asked of her.

      "I love it, it's a great place to live," Ivy told her with a smile.

      "I think so too, I love my little apartment," Bridget said smiling as
she really did.

      "So you coming to dinner?" Ivy asked.

      "Ah... sure, I'd love to. What time?" Bridget asked wondering why she
was accepting Ivy's dinner invite after she had scared the shit out of her.

      "How about six, that'll give me time to fix something," Ivy said as
she started to get out.

      "Okay do I need to bring anything?" Bridget asked just before Ivy
went to close her door.

      "Just yourself," Ivy said with a smile and then she shut the
door. But then she immediately opened it back up, "Oh and I invited you
because I think you're cute." She then gave her a smile and a wink before
closing the door and getting into her own car that was parked beside of
Bridget's car.

      Bridget had no time to respond to Ivy and she wasn't sure that she
knew what to say. However she felt her body respond to the comment as she
found herself smiling and she felt a tingle down below.

      She watched Ivy pulled out and returned the wave that Ivy gave to
her. But then she began to feel that familiar guilt arise in her heart. She
was again feeling something that she knew she shouldn't feel but it was
getting harder and harder for her to deny those feelings.

      Bridget lit another cigarette before starting her car and heading on
home.  Once there, she ran herself a hot bath and slipped into the tub. She
felt the warm water relaxing her along with her forth cigarette though she
had planned on smoking one and throwing the pack away. But then again, she
knew once she bought the pack, she'd smoke it all. Then she'd have to stop
all over again. She closed her eyes and thought about her first day of
teaching but Ivy kept coming into her thoughts and the comment that she
made about her being cute. That did bring a smile to her face that someone
like Ivy thought she was cute but it also brought along those familiar
guilt feelings. She hated feeling that way but she had no more control over
the guilt feelings than she did over what made her have those feelings.

      She soaked for about an hour in the tub, having to add more hot water
from time to time to keep the water warm. But eventually she forced herself
out, but not before sitting up on the edge to shave her legs and
armpits. She really didn't need to shave but for some reason, she did so
anyway. She applied some lotion on her body before putting on a robe. Then
she began to blow dry her curly brown hair. She tried to do something with
it but she was born with hair that had much too much body. That is why she
kept it relatively short, letting it fall down just covering her neck. But
then with her hair, she didn't have to invest in curling irons or anything
like that. There was a time when the youngest of her three older sisters
and her tried to straighten it. They worked for two hours and finally got
it straight only to find that all their effort lasted no more than the time
it took to get it straight. After that she gave up and accepted that she
had hair that was determined to be curly.

      She put on a little make up before heading out of her bathroom to
find something to wear. Even though her small studio apartment had no real
bedroom it did have a long closet in which to put her clothes. She was the
youngest of eight kids and her mother had always made her wear dresses or
skirts. She was rarely seen dressed in shorts or jeans that her older
sisters got to wear. But then they fought hard with her mother to get to
wear them and Bridget tended to just go along with what her mother
wanted. So now she was just more comfortable wearing dresses and that is
what she wore most of the time. So when she went to the closet, she
naturally picked out a dress but it was a casual one, one with a floral
pattern that went down to her knees. It was loose fitting as she never wore
anything form fitting, she had never been able to lose her baby fat so she
had a slight belly and with her B cup breast, she really didn't have a
model's body that she could show off with form fitting clothes.

      Once she was dressed, she realized that she had no clue as to which
apartment that Ivy lived in. She knew she couldn't just knock on every door
on the third floor. Then she remembered that in the packet that Ms. Powers
had given to her, it had a listing of all the teachers in the school and
their addresses and phone numbers. So she went to the small desk that came
with the apartment where the packet was. She shuffled through the papers
until she found what she was looking for and she looked Ivy up. From her
own address, she knew that the number before the street address was the
apartment number so she knew just which apartment to go to. She looked at
her watch and saw that it was only five thirty but then she hated to be
late and besides she was curious as to what Ivy's apartment looked like.
She was also getting anxious to see Ivy again; the comment about her being
cute had gotten to her in both a good and bad way. So she grabbed her keys
and went out the door.

      When she got to Ivy's door, she started to reach out and knock but
then she jerked her hand back, like if she touched the door, something
would happen and she needed to get as far away from that door as
possible. But then she knew it wasn't the door that might change her life
but who was behind that door. She turned and started to go back to her
apartment. There she would call Ivy and tell her that she was feeling a
little ill and had to cancel out of their dinner. She only got a few feet
away before stopping. She turned and looked back at the innocent looking
door. She bit her lower lip as she turned back and went to the door,
knocking on it before she could change her mind.

      It was only a moment later that she heard "Coming" from inside the
door and Bridget knew it was too late to turn back now. But then she
figured that she was blowing everything out of proportion as she tended to
do sometimes. A moment later, the door opened and Ivy appeared dressed in a
pair of loose fitting sweat shorts and a long tee shirt.

      "You're early" Ivy said thought she was smiling.

      "I'm sorry, I can come back in a few minutes," Bridget said frowning,
knowing that she had screwed up.

      "Oh hell no, you can help me fix our six course meal that I'm
preparing." Ivy said with a grin as she reached out grabbing Bridget's
right wrist and pulling her into the apartment.

      "You're preparing a six course meal?" Bridget asked not believing Ivy
but then again... with Ivy she couldn't tell.

      Ivy let out a deep hearty laugh, "No, I'm making spaghetti with
homemade meat sauce, and garlic bread. That's about the only thing I
actually know how to cook well."

      "Oh, I was wondering..." Bridget told her.

      "Come on into the kitchen, you can make the salad as I work on the
sauce."  Ivy told her pulling her on toward the kitchen.

      Bridget was able to glance around Ivy's apartment. She noted that it
was larger than her own, not a lot larger but larger. She also noted that
the furniture looked similar to her own, nothing new but that just made the
apartment look like a home. She also saw that there wasn't any dust on the
tables and the windows were spotless. That made Ivy like herself in needing
to keep things clean.

      "I heard about your air horn trick," Ivy said with a grin as she
showed Bridget where the bowl for the salad was.

      "I think everyone heard that," Bridget said with a laugh. "I just
wanted to get their attention."

      "You got everyone's attention with that one," Ivy told her laughing.

      "Was it the wrong thing to do, Ms. Powers didn't think it was,"
Bridget told her trying to defend her action.

      "No I think it was perfect, you're the new teacher, they were going
to test you; you just beat them to the punch. I admire your creativity. I'd
do it myself if I didn't think about half my students would piss their
pants and I'd be left to clean up the mess." Ivy said laughing again.

      "One of the teachers that is did my student teaching under had told
me that my students would test me whether they be the first graders or they
be in high school. I tried to think of some way to get their attention."
Bridget told her.

      "Like I said, I think it was great," Ivy said and then she turned
away from the stove, looking back at Bridget, "I also like what you did
with Becky, though you know that if you fail, you'll have to go through
with your wager."

      "How did you hear about that?" Bridget asked.

      "Honey, it's a small school and nothing goes on that doesn't get
around fast."  Ivy told her with a smile.

      "I see that now," Bridget told her noting that this was something
that she'd have to remember from now on. "But anyway, when I told the class
that I was going to show them that math can be fun, she said "Fat chance of
that" so I knew that I had to do something or I would be fighting her the
whole semester."

      "So do you think you can make it fun for her, she is a bit stubborn
but she's smarter than she thinks that she is." Ivy told her.

      "I don't know but I got to try, I don't want to have her color my
hair blue."  Bridget told her.

      Then without realizing it, Bridget went on about how people and
especially girls thought math was hard and they couldn't do it but they
could. And it could be fun if they would let it. Bridget got on a roll
talking about her fourth grade teacher that had took the time to show her
that she could do math and she grew to love it. She loved solving problems
and figuring things out. She wanted to bring that enthusiasm to her
students. She never noticed that Ivy was smiling at her the whole time that
she talked all the way through their dinner.

      After dinner, Ivy took her out to her small balcony to smoke a
cigarette.  Bridget had left her pack in her apartment not wanting to smoke
too many so she borrowed one from Ivy for which she was thankful that Ivy
smoked menthols too.  They both grew quiet as they enjoyed their
cigarettes. It was a bit hot outside and Bridget began to perspire so once
they both had finished their cigarettes, she was glad to get back inside to
the air conditioning.  Ivy went and got them a glass of wine to sip on as
they talked while Bridget went to the restroom, which she found to be about
identical to her own bathroom.

      They met back in the living room, sitting on the couch. "I told you
how I came to want to be a teacher so how did decide that is what you
wanted to do?"  Bridget asked before taking a sip of her wine.

      "You want the long version or the short one?" Ivy asked her.

      "It's early, let's go for the long version," Bridget said with a
smile.

      "Well I didn't know at an early age that a teacher was what I wanted
to be, in fact by the time I got to high school I hated school and about
everything else in my life." Ivy told her.

      "But why?" Bridget asked, not believing that Ivy who seemed to love
to laugh would be like that.

      "Well my father died of cancer the summer before I entered the eighth
grade," Ivy said and Bridget saw a bit of sadness in Ivy's eyes.

      "Oh I'm sorry, I can't imagine losing my father at that age; it must
have been hard on you." Bridget said reaching over and giving Ivy's forearm
a squeeze.

      "It was, there was just my mother and I and even though we had health
insurance, we ended up way in debt with my father's illiness. My mother had
to go back to work and the only job she could find was at a chicken
processing company.  It was hard work and she had to work long hours so I
felt like I had lost both of my parents. I didn't get to see my mother much
and when I did, we tended to argue. So by the time I got to high school, I
had fallen into a rough crowd. I began to smoke pot and stay out
late. Needless to say my grades went down and that just gave my mom and me
more to argue about." Ivy said as she paused for a moment to take a sip of
her wine and Bridget saw that she was remembering that time in her life and
it wasn't a happy thought.

      "I'm so sorry, I thought that my childhood was rough but it was
almost perfect compared to yours... but something obviously changed or you
wouldn't be here?" Bridget said and asked.

      "Yea a nosey busy body that couldn't resist putting her nose where it
didn't belong," Ivy said with a smile.

      "So what did this nosey busy body do?" Bridget asked getting into
Ivy's story.

      "I'm getting there," Ivy cautioned her thought she did so with a
smile.

      "Sorry," Bridget said returning the smile.

      "Somehow I made it through my freshman year passing my subjects with
C's and a couple of D's, a big difference from the A's and B's I got in
grade school. I also managed not to get arrested though I did do some
things that I could have been arrested for. And my mother managed not to
kill me though I know she wanted to. We were to the point of not talking by
this time, since when we did it just led to an argument. By November, I was
flunking all my classes and skipping school on a regular basis. That was
when Ms. Peterson, the nosey busybody I mentioned earlier came into the
picture." Ivy said with a grin.

      "Good for Ms. Peterson, what did she do?" Bridget asked and she got a
frown from Ivy.

      "Sorry," Bridget said with a giggle that made Ivy smile.

      "It's okay," Ivy said with a laugh. "You know I'm from Minnesota
don't you?"

      "From your accent, I figured that you were from somewhere in that
area."  Bridget told her.

      "That's also important to my story," Ivy told her. "So anyway, one
cold snowy November day that I showed up for school and actually stayed the
whole day, with Ms. Peterson's being my last class. She asked me to stay
over after class and I started to tell her to fuck off but for some reason
I didn't. I'm not sure why I did stay, maybe it was that it was a cold day
and I didn't have anywhere to be. She came over to my desk and sat down in
the desk beside of mine. She then began to tell me that she had been
checking up on me and found out that I was actually very smart, a lot
smarter than I was acting. All my test scores were in the upper percentile
but I was throwing my life away. Of course my response to her was "So
what." She was silent for a moment and I felt her studying me which
unnerved me.  I started to get up and leave when she told me that she was
going to hold a mirror to my face." Ivy told her and this time Bridget
didn't say anything. She just waited for Ivy to continue.

      "Now normally being a tough girl that I thought I was, I would have
told Ms.  Peterson to "Fuck off", however Ms. Peterson was a big woman and
I don't mean that she was fat, she was tall and solidly built. She also had
a commanding voice when she needed for it to be. She got up and told me
that she was going to take me on a little ride. I followed along; I think I
was afraid to do anything else." Ivy said with a laugh.

      "We went out to her car, an old Ford Bronco, and we began our
journey.  Neither of us talked as she went through the small town we lived
in and then out to the interstate. We were on the road for over an hour
before she pulled off the interstate. It was another ten minutes before a
large building started to come into view. It didn't take me long to figure
what it was when I saw the wire along the walls. Then I knew that
Ms. Paterson was going to show me the building and start her speech that
this was where I was going to end up one day. But she didn't, she pulled
into the gate and was met by the guard who seemed to know her.  We were
passed on in and she found a place to park. She then told me that she
wanted me to talk to someone. At this point I did begin to get scared as
this was the state prison for women, the hardcore ones." Ivy told her.

      "Oh shit," Bridget said covering her mouth after saying it. "I would
be scared to death going into a place like that."

      "I was though I tried not to show it." Ivy told her pausing for a
second to take a sip of her wine before continuing. "Ms. Peterson took me
on inside and she went to the desk as I stood back looking at the cold
concrete walls. She talked to the guard for a few minutes and then after he
had made a phone call, he gave her two passes.

      ""Come on, there is someone I want you to talk to." She told me in
that voice of hers. And while I didn't want to, I got my now shaky legs to
work and I went with her through a steel door. We went down a long hallway
escorted by another guard, this time a female one. She opened a door and
Ms. Peterson stopped at the door." Ivy said.

      "She said to me, "Now I want you to listen carefully to what this
woman has to say to you." Ms Peterson told me." Ivy went on to say.

      "You're not going in with me?" I asked her.

      ""No, this you got to do alone," Ms Peterson said before putting her
hand on my shoulder and propelling me into the room. The steel door shut
and I felt my knees go weak. The guard took me to a small cubical that had
a glass window in front and a phone to the right side. The guard stood back
against the wall and about ten minutes later I saw a door opening on the
other side of the glass and a guard brought in a woman who had hand cuffs
and leg irons on. She came on in and sat in the chair in front of me. The
woman looked to be about fifty but I later learned that she was in her late
thirties. She pointed to the phone with her hand cuff hands so I picked it
up as she did. She told me that her name was Karen and that Ms. Peterson
asked her to tell me her story. I just mumbled okay and Karen told me to
speak up and I did, saying okay again louder but very shaky voice." Ivy
said before taking another sip of her wine.

      "She said that she was in prison for robbery and contributing to the
murder of three people at a bank. She admitted that she was the driver of
the getaway can and while she didn't kill anyone, she was just a guilty as
the people who did the murders. She told me a story that sounded a lot
alike mine in that she got into the wrong crowd when she was young, got
into drugs and quit school though she was smart enough to make something of
herself. She went on for a while with her story and she said her greatest
regret and she had many was that she had to give up her baby and let
someone else raise her. At that point, she began to cry and I had to admit
that I was about to cry too." Ivy said.

      "She got to you didn't she?" Bridget said.

      "Yes she did," Ivy said with a soft smile. "She talked to me for over
an hour and there wasn't anything that I didn't know about her, her life
before prison and the time she spent inside which did scare the hell out of
me. Finally the guard on her side of the window told Karen to wrap it
up. That was when Karen told me to tell her baby that she loved her which I
thought was strange at the time. So anyway I was escorted back out to the
main lobby where Ms. Peterson was waiting for me. She didn't say a word;
she just took me back out to her car and took me home. She never said a
word on the trip, just letting me think and think I did. She took me
straight to my house which was strange that she knew where I lived but that
thought didn't occur to me at the time. I started to get out when she put
her hand on my arm and she said, "Ivy, you're at a fork in the road, be
careful which road you take." Then she let go of my arm and I got out. When
I got inside of my house, my mom was there waiting for me which was another
strange thing that went past me as mom was suppose to work a double shift
that day. She offered to cook me something to eat which I declined and got
no argument from her, another strange thing that I missed." Ivy told her.

      "Oh I like this lady, she worked you like a fine violin," Bridget
told her.

      Ivy laughed, "Oh yes she did. That night, I didn't sleep a wink; I
just kept remembering that cold prison and Karen's story. I went on to
school where another strange thing happened."

      "Which was?" Bridget asked wanting Ivy to continue with her very
interesting story.

      "Well when lunch came around a few of the girl's hockey team
approached me and told me to come with them. Now normally I would tell them
to fuck off but while they were good girls, they were tough and I was out
numbered so I went along. They stopped outside one of the girls bathrooms
that was out of the way and pushed me inside. I figured that they were
going to beat me up for some reason but they stayed outside. Inside there
was Brenda, the goalie for the hockey team standing against the far
wall. She was a big girl but very quick one; she was a year ahead of me in
school and I sort of knew her but not really.  The first thing that she
said to me was that she heard that I had met her mother.  Now I knew that
her mother was Ms. Peterson so that was a strange thing for her to say but
then I looked closely at her and I looked into her eyes and then it hit
me." Ivy said.

      "Karen was her real mother wasn't she?" Bridget asked.

      "Yep, she was." Ivy said with a smile. "Ms. Peterson had adopted her
and she had made sure that Karen was kept up to date with her daughter and
vise versa.  So we talked a few minutes as she asked about her mom and I
told her everything.  Then she asked me if I was going to tell anyone who
her real mom was and I said no. Not because I was afraid of her and her
pals but because I knew it would be wrong for me to do so. That was her
secret to keep and once she found out I wasn't going to tell, she invited
me to try out for the hockey team. Even though I had never played hockey,
she talked me into it." Ivy told her.

      "So I take it that you took the road less traveled," Bridget told
her.

      Ivy let out a laugh, "Yes I did, the nosey bitch got to me. And what
was worse was the bitch was also working on my mom who suddenly stopped
working so much overtime and was home more."

      "So you and your mom worked things out?" Bridget asked.

      "It took us a while but we both tried harder and were finally able to
talk without arguing as much, though I still broke curfew from time to
time. You see there was still a bit of a rebel in me and I just couldn't
help myself. There was one time I actually got home on time but then stayed
out in the cold until I was fifteen minutes late just to show that I was a
bit bad." Ivy said with a smile.

      "You did?" Bridget asked.

      "Yea I did, and my mother jumped on me and grounded me for a week. I
told her that was fine with me, I didn't have anything to do that week
anyway." Ivy said with a laugh.

      "You just couldn't help yourself, could you" Bridget said with a
smile.

      "Yea but when I was in college, mom told me she saw that I was home
on time but she understood my need to be bad just a little. And I'm still
that way; I do like to be bad from time to time." Ivy told her.

      "So I noticed," Bridget said pointing to Ivy's cigarettes.

      Ivy laughed, "How about having another one?'

      "Sure thought that puts me way over my limit for the day," Bridget
said with a smile.

      Once outside and they got a puff of their cigarettes Bridget asked,
"So did you become a star on the hockey team?"

      Ivy let out a laugh, "Oh no, I was never that good but with these
wide hips, I was great at putting people into the wall, my bad side coming
out in a good way."

      "And what about Brenda, did you two become best friends?" Bridget
asked.

      Ivy gave her a mischievous grin before saying, "Sort of and we also
became lovers for a while."

      "Oh," Bridget said and she felt her face go warm for a moment but
what was worse was that she felt something else go warm, something that was
between her legs and she felt herself imaging Ivy with a woman. This just
served to make her face grow redder and warmer.

      "That doesn't bother you does it?" Ivy asked studying her.

      "Oh no, I'm cool with it." Bridget told her which she was in one way
but another way it bothered her as it brought up feelings that she wanted
to keep hidden. And what was worse, with the way Ivy was looking at her, it
felt like she could see inside of her and knew the feelings that she was
trying so hard to keep inside of her.

      "Good, I think we can be real good friends and I don't want anything
to come between that happening..." Ivy said with a soft smile and Bridget
felt Ivy touch her hand and then giving it a squeeze.

      "I think we can too and it won't," Bridget replied as she gave Ivy's
hand a squeeze back before she realized what she was doing and then she
quickly took her hand away.

      Bridget then got Ivy off that delicate subject and back onto Ivy's
past. Ivy told her that at her first hockey game that she got to play in,
she saw her mother and Ms. Peterson sitting together and cheering her
on. She said that was when she knew that Ms. Peterson had been talking to
her mom and how she knew where she lived. They talk for a while sharing
another glass of wine and another cigarette before Bridget left to head
back to her apartment but not before accepting Ivy's invitation to dinner
and a movie that Friday night.

      When Bridget got back to her apartment, she went to her bedroom to
get her pajamas, which was a set of shorts and top with little hearts all
over them.  She loved to wear these during the summer as they were cool and
lose fitting. She took them to the bathroom where she undressed down to her
panties before putting on her pajamas. She peed, washed her hands, and then
brushed her teeth.  She went back into her main living area, going to the
bed. She turned on the alarm before getting into bed and turning off the
light. She covered up and began to relax. She wasn't one of those people
who could go right off to sleep. She had to let her mind unwind a little
first. Her mother had hated that about her when she was little as it took a
couple of books that she had to read to her to get her to sleep. All of her
older brothers and sisters it had taken only a page or two. She was just
cursed with an overactive mind that had to have time to slow down.

      So Bridget first thought about her first day as a teacher which she
thought went well. She knew she had a lot to learn about teaching but at
least she now knew that she could be a teacher and maybe a good one. Next
her mind went to Ivy and her story of going from a rebel, to a good
student, to a hockey player, and then to a teacher. She felt herself
smiling as she thought about Ivy but then her mind went back to Ivy and
hockey. While she didn't know a lot about hockey, she was from the north so
she knew enough. But it wasn't the hockey that she was really thinking
about; it was about Ivy and her friend Brenda. Again it wasn't about them
playing hockey together but what else they did. Ivy didn't go into any
detail about her love affair with Brenda, only mentioning it but that was
enough for her mind to begin to think about it.

      She tried to get her mind off of them together but her mind refused,
instead thinking about them in the shower after practice or a game, them
being all alone and naked in the shower. She knew this wasn't realistic but
her mind had latched onto this fantasy and wasn't letting go. She felt her
pussy begin to tingle and her right hand went there. She slipped her
fingers under her pajama shorts and her panties. She felt her pubic hair
letting her fingers run through the thick fine hair. When she fingers got
to her pussy, she felt a pang of guilt course through her body but her
fingers went on, beginning to rub her pussy lips that were already getting
wet.

      She opened her legs so that her fingers could do their magic on her
pussy lips and clit. Her mind was imagining Brenda and Ivy coming together
in the shower, kissing and caressing each other. Their hands moving against
each other but then her mind played a dirty trick on her. It replaced
Brenda with herself.  She was the one kissing Ivy and caressing her
body. Her fingers touching Ivy's breasts and then she was kissing those
nipples. She felt Ivy's hands touch her small breasts and then she felt
Ivy's hand go down toward her pussy. But before they got to her pussy, she
felt her pussy spasm and she was racked with a powerful orgasm. Her fingers
had been rubbing her clit hard since she replaced Brenda with herself and
she lost control of her own masturbation.

      Once she had recovered, she felt that familiar guilt come over her as
she had done what her mother and priest had drilled into her brain was
wrong.  However the orgasm did tire her out and relax her enough for her to
fall asleep.

      When her alarm went off the next morning, she turned it off and she
lay there for a moment. Her mind slowly woke up and then she realized that
for the first time in her life, she didn't have those bad dreams that
always came to her after she had masturbated. She wasn't sure what that
meant but she was glad of all the same.

      She didn't see Ivy that morning on her way out of the apartment
building nor did she see her car. Bridget figured that Ivy had left early
for which she was glad. After what she had done when she got back to her
apartment, she wanted to avoid Ivy for a few days to get her out of mind
and stop herself from thinking of Ivy in the way that she had.

      She had discovered from the pop quiz that she had given to her first
class that word problems were what they all had the most problems. She
decided to change what she had originally planned in that she moved word
problems from the last thing she would teach them to the first thing. She
figured that she might as well get the hard part over with first.

      When she announced this to her class she got the expected moans and
groans. Becky told her that she hoped that she liked her hair colored blue
because it definitely was going to be and that got a laugh from the
class. But Bridget just smiled and started her class. She made it a group
project giving them an easy one and helping them to break it down from
words to an actual math problem. She wasn't interested in them actually
solving the problem, just wanted them to realize that word problems wasn't
as scary as they thought. She didn't get them to the point of being able to
solve word problems that first class but she did get them to have fun and
she believed that a couple of light bulbs began to glow, one of them being
Becky.

      When she got to her lunch period, she got into her purse to get a
mint and she saw her pack of cigarettes. She so wanted one but she had a
few hours to go before that could happen. However fate walked into her
classroom right at that time.

      "You wouldn't want to join me for a cigarette about now would you?"
Ivy asked her with a grin on her face.

      Bridget gasped first as Ivy scared her but then when she saw her
smile, Bridget found herself smiling back. And as much as she thought that
she had wanted to avoid Ivy, she was glad to see her and not only because
she was offering a cigarette that she wanted in the worst way.

      "I'd love one but just how are we going to manage that without
getting caught?" Bridget asked.

      "Oh I know of a place, but we have to hurry, I only have about thirty
minutes before my next class. We're on a slightly different schedule in
middle school that high school." Ivy told her.

      "Well let's hurry then," Bridget said as she grabbed her cigarettes
and a lighter but then she didn't know where to hide them.

      "Let me have them," Ivy said as Bridget came over to the door. "I got
the perfect hiding place," she went on to say giving Bridget a wink.

      Bridget watched as Ivy opened her blouse a little and slipped the
pack and lighter into the top part of her left bra cup. "The perfect hiding
place," Ivy said giving her another wink.

      "I see," Bridget said feeling herself blush a little.

      "Come on," Ivy said taking her hand and pulling her down the hallway.

      They went to the end of the hall where there was an old maintenance
stairwell. However that door was always kept locked with only the
maintenance personal having the key to it. Bridget watched as Ivy pulled a
key from the waistband of her slacks with which she preceded to unlock the
door.

      "I'm not going to ask how you managed to get that key," Bridget said
as they both slipped inside the stairway and Ivy locked the door behind
them.

      "I got my ways," Ivy said with a grin.

      "I can see that," Bridget said before they headed down to the
basement of the building.

      Ivy took her onto the boiler room when she stopped and pulled both of
their packs of cigarettes from her bra. "See the perfect hiding place," Ivy
told her.

      "Yes it is on both accounts," Bridget said blushing a little and then
she said to change the subject she had hinted at, "So the maintenance guy
won't come by?"

      "He might..." Ivy said after taking a puff on her cigarette.

      ""What will he do if he catches us?" Bridget had to ask.

      "Probably join us for a cigarette," Ivy said bringing out a full ash
tray from behind one of the tool boxes there.

      "Oh, that's good," Bridget said relaxing a little knowing that they
wouldn't be turned in.

      So they talked a little about their day while they smoked their
cigarettes and then they headed back up the stairs which was a lot more
taxing on her legs than going down them. At least smoking in the basement
would help to keep her legs in shape. Ivy had to stop on her floor as she
was running down on time, so Bridget put her cigarette pack and lighter
inside her bra like Ivy had done and made it back up to her classroom. She
then popped that mint that she had gotten out into her mouth to cover her
breath.

      She didn't see Ivy that afternoon when she left school, nor did she
talk to her that evening. She didn't see her again until the next day when
Ivy came to her for their smoke. This time, Bridget wore a skirt that had a
pocket so that she could hide her cigarettes in it as they made their way
down to the boiler room to get the nicotine that they both so desired.  Ivy
quizzed her a little on what types of movies that she liked and Bridget
replied that she liked anything except horror movies. She saw Ivy frown at
that so she added that she could watch one if she had someone to watch it
with and it wasn't just blood and guts with little plot to it.  It did make
Bridget happy that Ivy was making an effort to take her to a movie that she
would enjoy. She liked that but it also made her begin to think that this
was becoming more like a date. That wasn't what she wanted at least her
brain was telling her that.

      They continued that routine for the rest of the week, sharing a smoke
during the day but not seeing or talking the rest of the day or
evening. This did give her time in the evenings to plan her next
day. Teaching was new to her and she was learning things every day. She did
talk to Ivy about this when they smoked but she also got to know some of
her other fellow teaches who gave her some advice or just listened as she
worked out a problem on her own. But at night, she did think of Ivy before
she went to sleep though she managed to keep from masturbating from a
fantasy of her.

      Friday finally got there and Bridget was glad, it had been a long
week and she needed a break to refresh her brain. It was also the night
that she was going to dinner and a movie with Ivy, something she was
looking forward to more than she realized. But she told herself that she
hadn't gotten to go to a movie since before she graduated from college and
that was the reason for her excitement and not being with Ivy.

      When Bridget got home, she went straight to the bathroom and ran
herself a bath. She slipped into the hot water feeling the taxing day ease
away from her mind. Then she began to think about her date with Ivy but as
soon as she had that thought, she corrected herself that it was just a
movie and dinner between colleagues. That was all this was and would ever
be. She kept that in mind as she bathed and then washed her hair using a
strawberry scented shampoo that she liked. Once she got out of the bathtub,
she put lotion on making her skin feel soft and smooth, including her legs
that she had shaved before getting out of the tub.  She took her time
getting ready, picking out a nice dress to wear that actually showed a
little cleavage, not much but a little. Then she applied a little makeup to
show off her brown eyes.

      A couple of minutes after six she heard a knock on her door; she felt
her heart flutter a bit and she checked her hair before going to the
door. She opened it seeing Ivy standing there with a bright smile. She was
wearing a tight pair of jeans and a sleeveless V top that showed a lot more
cleavage than she was showing.  Her eyes stayed there for a second longer
than she wanted and she knew that Ivy picked up on this.

      "Hi there, you look nice," Bridget told her.

      Ivy grinned at her, "Thank you and you look nicer," she replied.

      "So where we going?" Bridget asked picking up her purse off the desk
by the door. She wanted to get the subject onto something other than each
other's outfits.

      "I thought that we'd go into San Francisco, I know a great Greek
restaurant there and then see a movie that I think you might enjoy." Ivy
told her as she waited for Bridget to shut the door and lock it.

      "Oh I love Greek food," Bridget said with a smile.

      "Cool, then let's get this show on the road," Ivy said giving her a
wink.

      They talked about their week on the drive to San Francisco, which
Bridget was excited to see. Coming from the east coast, she had heard a lot
about San Francisco and wanted to see all the sights there. So by the time
that they got to the city, Bridget found that she had accepted Ivy's offer
to come back on Saturday to do a little touring, which would include a ride
on the famous trolley system. This excited Bridget to no ends and she
wasn't sure which she was more excited about, seeing the city or being with
Ivy whom she felt so comfortable with and who seemed to like her. They
didn't have to go too far into the city before Ivy got them to the Greek
restaurant that she liked.

      "So do you want to start off with an appetizer?" Ivy asked her as
they sat down and waited for the waiter to get to them.

      "Sure but what?" Bridget asked.

      "Why don't we just got some of the jalepeno peppers, I love them."
Ivy told her.

      "Sounds good but now I don't know what I want to eat," Bridget said
to her as she looked over the menu.  "It's been a long time since I've to a
Greek restaurant; I'm not sure what I want."

	"Well for the girl that doesn't know what she wants, I guess I'll
have to get her everything," Ivy said with a big smile.

      "You're silly," Bridget said with a laugh.

      "I try," Ivy said with a big laugh. "The sample plate has a little
bit of everything, that way we can try it all and then when we come back we
can just order what we liked."

      "Mmm... okay, I do remember that I like the gyros, so I get yours
too."  Bridget said to her with a smile.

      "But I love that too, so I might not be willing to give them to you."
Ivy countered.

      "Then I guess we have to fight over the gyros," Bridget said
seriously but then she broke into a laugh.

      "I like my changes in a street fight with you, I'm bigger," Ivy said
looking serious but Bridget saw the smile underneath the serious expression
on her face.

      "That may be but I'm quicker," Bridget said trying to be serious
again but then she had to laugh as she was enjoying this game. "Plus I grew
up with three older sisters and four older brothers; I do know how to
fight."

      "I played hockey in high school; I know how to slam people into the
wall." Ivy countered.

      About this time the waiter finally arrived to take their orders thus
ending the game but by then they were both laughing at each other. As they
waited for their food, they did get serious over what they did like and
some of the things they both know they didn't care as much for. So by the
time that they had gone through most of the jalapeno peppers, their main
dishes came out. They both did a little swapping.

      When the meal was over they relaxed with some Ouzo, talking a little
about the school but mostly about the meal and Bridget realized how much
she was enjoying this dinner with Ivy, she seemed to make everything fun
and Bridget was able to forget her worries for a little while.

      After dinner, Ivy drove around the city just a little telling Bridget
about the places that she had already visited. Bridget then suggested that
they go the next day to places that Ivy hadn't been to so that they could
discover them together except for the trolley that was first on the list of
things to do as far as Bridget was concerned.

      Soon it was time to find the theater so Ivy took them there. Bridget
noticed that it appeared to be an older theater but was in good shape. Ivy
told her that they were running a bit late so she rushed Bridget right to
the front door. Bridget thought that it was strange that Ivy had already
bought their tickets but she didn't say anything. Ivy hurried on through
the lobby and on into the theater that was showing the film that they were
going to see. Bridget only got to glance at the posters on the wall and she
saw that they seemed to either have two men or two women on them but that
really didn't seem strange to her, at least for the short time she got to
glance at them. When they sat down, she saw only women sitting together
talking but again nothing clicked to her. The screen had a large curtain
covering it like they did in earlier times and she liked that.  Bridget
asked what movie that they were seeing but Ivy wouldn't say only that she
would enjoy it. They got to talk for about fifteen minutes before the
lights went down which contrasted with Ivy saying that they were running
late.

      The curtain came open and the movie began. Bridget had always been
one to really get into the movie that she was watching, which was one
reason why she hated horror flicks, she would get sucked into them and then
get the shit scared out of her, something that she didn't enjoy.

      The movie started with two women lawyers who worked at the same large
law firm but who also seemed to have a great dislike for each other. They
had managed to avoid each other for years at the firm but were finally
forced to work together on a big case. It wasn't too far into the movie
before the two women lawyers begin to put their dislikes behind them and
they discovered that there was a lot more to the other one than either
realized. The fact that they both hated their client didn't hurt either as
it gave them something in common. At the halfway point, their hatred for
each other had turned one hundred and eighty degrees. And it was at this
point that Bridget realized where this movie was going. She glanced over at
Ivy who gave her a soft and in its own way, an enticing smile.

      End of Part One.
      To be continued...

Please let me know what you think of my story. I welcome all comments
good or bad. You can email me at numlfl@hotmail.com