Chapter Two

Lick the sides at a slight angle, then relish in its taste on your tongue, then gently swallow down the white sticky liquid. Rinse, lather, repeat. God, she eats so mechanically. I have to surpress the urge to giggle. That inner voice of mine can be very amusing at times. Even now, as I sit across from Angela Robertson and Sally Milton, that voice plagues me. But it can’t be helped I guess, Milton does lick her ice cream in a pattern. I wonder if someone has ever told her that her initials are “S” and “M”, bondage, sadism and masochism and all that purely fun stuff.

“So, how long have you been teaching Ms. Robertson?” I watch as she looks up at me when I ask the question. She sets her coffee down next to her empty plate. I don’t know how she ate all of that spaghetti. But then again, I don’t know how she keeps her husband with that waistline…

“I started when I was fresh out of college, much like you. I’ve been teaching U.S. History for almost 8 years, and I taught World History for 2 years when Mr. Lee had a nervous breakdown. So, it’s been 10 years.” She picks her coffee up and takes another sip.

“Do you like it here so far Ms. Takeshi?” My eyes dart to S&- I mean Ms. Milton. She has finished off her ice cream cone and is licking her fingers. Oh yeah, she’s a real flirt. Her deep red hair and green eyes make her stand out quite a bit. And she looks about my age. I wonder if that’s a natural hair color? Well there are ways to-

“Well, these past three hours have gone pretty well.” Gotta go hush up that inner voice while silently thanking God that it is an inner voice and not an outer one. “I think that my students like me and are really eager to learn. I just hope that I live up to their expectations.” I smile sweetly, trying to win over these two teachers whom I would come to know very well. My eyes leave them momentarily to take in the teacher’s lounge. The lounge is very spacious with a blue and white color theme. Blue and White are the school’s colors, but I don’t mind, I like them a lot. I learned that I was a hit earlier with my light blue skirt and white shirt. It seems here that the students here are really into the school spirit thing. Funny, I thought my acceptance today came from the white lace Victoria’s Secret bra that is noticeable at certain angles….

“Are the students responsive to the teachers here? I asked the head of the foreign languages department when I was interviewing for the job and she said yes, but I wonder about what the teachers think of the students?” My eyes look over to some teachers sitting at the table to the right of us. The four men sitting there are discussing foreign politics or something other. It doesn’t interest me in the least. But I get a close look at the guy sitting on the end. Hmmm.

“Well that depends on the classes. Students in the honors and AP classes are more geered towards learning. You’re pretty lucky to be teaching Japanese because you’re going to be getting the more dedicated students. Most people believe that Japanese is such a teribbly hard language to learn.” Ms. Robertson answered with the knowledge that comes from teaching at Oasis for as long as she has. I nodded slightly, and then I glanced up at the clock on the furthest wall.

“Excuse me ladies, it’s almost 12:30, I must be getting to my class.” I smiled at my two new friends and got up with ease. After their wishes of good luck, I found myself walking down the now quiet halls of Oasis. It was only, 12:10 so the students were still on lunch.

***********

Click, click, click. I listen to the sound of my hills thud in the hall. My heart pounds in unison to the clicking. I try to gain more control over my breathing, but it doesn’t seem to work. I stop walking I feel so eerily aware of my surroundings. By now I’m breathing very hard, and I’m scared witless. Why do I have to get so Goddamn nervous? I slowly made my way to Room 217, my very own classroom to do with as I please. I open the door and walk in.

“AAHH!” My eyes widened when I saw the girl sitting in the center right in front of my desk and when I stepped back, lost my footing and fell backwards through the door. The pigtailed blond scampered out of her seat and rushed over to my side.

“Gomennasai! Gomennasai Takeshi-sensei” She helped me to sit up and I stared into her wide blue eyes. She looked really concerned. “Daijoubu desu ka?”

I blinked. She just asked me if I was all right in Japanese!? “Ahhh, hai, daijoubu desu.” We both got to our feet. “What are you doing here young lady?” I peered down at the girl. She had bright blue eyes and wore her her in two fluffy pig tails.

She guiltily looked down at her shoes. “I’m sorry Takeshi-sensei. I didn’t mean any harm. I-I just wanted to get to class extra early because I’m really excited. But I guess I only caused trouble…” She dug her right foot into the ground.

I felt bad for coming off as a big meanie to the girl. “It’s all right. I’ve been really nervous about today and I really wasn’t expecting to find anyone here. Don’t worry about it.”

She looked up at me with such relief. I think that she was going to cry if I hadn’t done something quick. “What’s your name miss?”

“Jessica. Jessica McKinley. I’m a Sophmore here.” I walked over to my desk and sat down gingerly. My ass hurt like hell from falling.

“I noticed that you know some Japanese.” I say eyeing Jessica curiously. She has a cute round face with a touch of make up. Her clothes, a black skirt and a purple sweater, look neat and they suit her well.

“Yeah, my friends and I love Japanese animation. We’re always watching stuff like Sailor Moon, Evangelion, Tenchi Muyo, Rurouni Kenshin- anything that’s Japanese.” She is practically GLOWING right now.

I giggle. “I didn’t realize that anime was popular in America”

“Well, it’s not as popular as it should be, it’s more of a cult thing.”

Cult thing? I could show you some things that are wayy more cultish than that. Right under your nose too little Jessica. “What’s your favorite anime Jessica?” Maybe this will shut up that pesky little voice…

Oh my God, she looks like she’s going to go supernova. “Evangelion ga daisuki desu.”

I giggled, I can’t help but laugh at her enthusiasm. “Ahh, you’re an Evagelion fan. I haven’t actually seen that yet. I personally enjoy a good episode of Fuushigi Yugi.”

“OH MY GOD THAT IS SOOO COOL!!!” Yeah, she’s a real ball of energy.

“Well, perhaps we’ll sit down and talk about anime sometime.” I look up at the clock. 12:22. Hmm… I hear a noise and look towards the door. Yup, the students are returning from lunch. “I think that it’s almost time for my lesson Jessica.”

She scrambles to her seat. “Hai, Takeshi sensei. I’m really looking forward to it. Really? I hadn’t noticed.

I got up and wrote on the chalkboard as students slowly began to amble in. I didn’t pay too much attention to them though. I wanted to make sure that my kanji on the board was perfect and that the translation was written perfectly underneath. My first two classes had gone very well. I could only hope that the next 2 would also go smoothly.

BBRRRIIINNNNGGG!!!!

Goddamn bell making so much fucking noise. I walked to the door and shut it and then I finally turned laid my eyes upon my class.

“Konnichiwa. Hajimemashite. Watashi wa Takeshi Selena desu. Watashi wa anata no Nihongo no sensei desu.” I walked towards the center of the class, right in front of where Jessica was sitting. “Good afternoon class. I am Selena Takeshi. I am your Japanese teacher.”

“Well since we’re going to be together the whole year, I think that we should introduce ourselves to each other. Well, at UCLA I double majored in Japanese and Education. I went to graduate school for both subjects- yes I was a kindergarten teacher with a PH.D. At Beaver Elementary I specialized in special education child care. I taught there for 3 years. But I found that I needed something more challenging. So I decided to fall back on my other degree- Japanese. So here I am now.”

Hmm, they’re paying rapt attention. That’s good.

I’ve lived in Japan from birth to the age of 7. I then went with my father and traveled around the world with him on business. So I’ve been to so many countries and Japanese and English aren’t the only languages that I know. I’ve been to London, Wales, Spain, Greece, Netherlands, China, Russia, Egypt, Iraq, Sweden, India, Thailand, etc. So if anyone is interested in learning some things about some other cultures as well, do feel free to ask. I’ve spent a significant amount in several countries, especially Italy. And don’t be afraid to ask anything, because trust me, I’ve lived, and I can answer any of your questions.” A boy sitting in the fourth row raised his hand. “Yes?”

“I hear that Russian women are absolutely to ugly to fuck and that’s why Russian men and women are so horny. Is this true?” The class broke out into laughter. Oooohhh, good question.

“Well I wouldn’t say that the women look that bad. But they are damn good carpet lickers I must admit. And yes, the men are terribly fixated on sex. I mean that’s not a bad thing. They are more into foreplay than American men are.”

The class stopped laughing. Hehehehehehe, I thought that would shut them up. Oh wait, I’m supposed to be good…..I looked out at their bulging eyes. And poor Jessica looked awfully confused. Hmm that boy who asked the question looked rather pleased though. I guess I made his day. “Well, any more questions?” Everyone slowly shook their heads.

“Well then let’s begin.” I walked to the board. “By the end of this class period you are going to know how to meet people and ask basic questions. So when you meet someone…

***********

Hmmmm, the joys of cheesecake. So yummy, and cheesecakish. I took another bite of the cake. I was sitting on the patio of Le petit café. I just love their having a slice of cheesecake with a glass of iced tea. It was 6:00 p.m. and my sister and I were celebrating my first day of school. She sat across from me nursing her cappucino and nibbling on her apple pie.

“So, do you think that you’ll like this job Selena-chan?”

“Yeah, I think that I will. I am going to miss some of the children that I used to work with.”

“I don’t know about that sis. I didn’t say anything, but I never felt that you were suited for working with children. I think that working with these high schoolers will be so much better for you.” She looked at me seriously. Her long black hair was clipped up because of the heat. She had such lovely dark almond eyes.

“No, I didn’t realize that you felt that way Midori. But I guess that we can only wait and see what tomorrow will bring.”