Student Teacher

Chapter 5

The next day in school Dick got a note from Miss Posner asking that he meet her in the History office during fifth period to discuss a paper he’d barely started working on and which was due in about two weeks. It was a standard request from a teacher to a student but he had a strong feeling that she didn’t really give a rat’s ass about his opinions regarding the Teapot Dome Scandal and had no intention of talking about long past political scandals; it turned out that he was right.

But, having no real choice other than a flat out lie—and being secretly flattered by her attention, he showed up as asked.

“Thanks for stopping by, Dick. I just wanted to make sure you were okay after I dropped you off Saturday. You know, I was afraid that you may have felt funny or something.”

Dick leaned against a tall file cabinet inside the office door. “Sure, no problem. I mean, thanks for letting me unwind like that; it was exactly what I wanted just then and you seemed to clue in to that.”

Neither of them brought up the fact that she wanted to spend some time alone with him—or at least alone enough that they could talk, nor did either of them mention the kiss. “Did anyone at your home worry when you walked in so late? I’d hate it if I caused you any problems about that.”

“No, no one minded or anything. It was fine.”

She smiled; good, she’d been a little worried about that since she had no idea what his home life was really like. “How did the rest of the shows go the next day?” She wasn’t about to admit that she’d been to them all.

“Good, good audiences and it was great to see my old friends again.” He shifted his weight and sat down on the edge of a neighboring desk. “They even asked if I might be able to join the show for Christmas break for the Boston, New York, Philly leg of the tour.”

“Good lord, I can’t imagine what that must be like, all that traveling and seeing the country like you did when…” She stopped. “Oh God, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bring up any bad memories for you. Really, I didn’t.”

“They’re good memories, Miss Posner. Don’t worry about it.” He made a small movement with his head that wasn’t quite a shrug. Most of the memories were good, anyway. “Bruce understands that it’s part of my life and probably always will be to some degree. He’s okay with it.”

He amazed her, still only fifteen and here he was trying to put her at ease after her thoughtless lapse. When he was twenty or thirty he’d be incredible.

“’You wanted to talk about my paper?”

She almost started. “Yes, I did. How’s it coming so far?” She shuffled through a list of which kid was writing on which subject. “The Teapot Dome Scandal. Fascinating subject and one important one.”

“Yeah, right, you need to get out more.” Dick laughed out loud at that. Important in American history? Sure, it was but fascinating? That was a stretch. Boring maybe? More to the point as far as he could see, but then it was hardly the kind of thing designed to float his boat. “It’s fine.”

“If you have any problems with it, just talk to me, all right?” Of course it was fine; he was a smart kid and he could do work like this in his sleep. He stood up to go, assuming they were finished but; “I was wondering something.”

“Yes?” Most kids would have pronounced it ‘yeah’.

“I know you’re busy, but would you like to make some extra money? My roommate and I want to paint our apartment and I was hoping that you might have some time next weekend. I could pay you a hundred dollars and we could really use the help.”

He hesitated; he hated painting and he was supposed to go camping with Roy and Wally next weekend. They’d been planning it for a month. “I’d like to help but I have plans, sorry.”

“I understand but how about the week after? It doesn’t really matter when we do it and another person would make all the difference.”

“Um, I don’t know, I’m pretty heavily booked and…”

“Please? I know Sarah hasn’t been able to find anyone and we can’t afford a professional. You’d really be saving our lives if you could fit us in—I swear you would.”

The old saying that ‘flattery will get you anywhere’ still hung true. “…I guess I could…”

“Wonderful! You’ll be our hero. The week after next? That will be perfect and we’ll supply the pizza. Let me give you my address and phone number, just in case; say about nine-thirty? Is that too early?"

“How about ten? It’s a Saturday.”

“Of course, ten it is. Thank you, Dick, this will be such a huge help; you’ve no idea.”

He nodded, picked up his backpack and left the small office, almost bumping into another student hanging around the door, obviously eavesdropping. “Nice going, Grayson. Playing footsie with Madam Tightass. Your guardian is out of her reach and so she’s settling for the kid—obvious much?”

“Shut up, Colin.”

“Yeah, good comeback.” Colin laughed as Dick pushed past him.

Dammit, it would be all over the school now, that was a given and a no-brainer. “Hey Colin, lay off, will you? It’s nothing, swear to God. Just painting her place with her and her roommate. Don’t do anything stupid that’ll get her in trouble, okay?” Colin was a lot like Roy, a blowhard and sometimes a complete jackass, but he basically meant well; he could usually be reasoned with. “Colin, c’mon.”

“Yeah, sure, whatever. I’m not going to say anything to anyone. I swear, Grayson, you want to waste a weekend painting that bitch’s house, that’s your problem.” Colin meant what he said, he wouldn’t tell anyone mainly because he didn’t care enough about either Posner or Grayson to say anything to anyone. But since when did Grayson need a hundred dollars? Bruce Wayne was Bruce Wayne, f’Chrissakes and he was paying Grayson’s bills.

Well, whatever, no skin off his ass.

 

* * *
 

Two weeks later Dick showed up at ten sharp to the small carriage house the two women were renting. They’d gotten the paint, rollers, extension poles, tarps and a few brushes but had forgotten the roller trays. Dick volunteered to walk down to the hardware store a few blocks away while the others started the cutting in around the woodwork and ceilings. He was on line at the checkout of the mom and pop store, when one of his classmates, Jason Weber came up behind him, weather stripping in hand.

“What you doing here, Grayson? I thought that you guys had a staff on call at all times at your place.”

“Oh, we do; I’m just slumming.” Jason glanced at the paint trays in Dick’s hand. “I’m helping someone paint their apartment.”

Jason nodded. “I’m helping my dad; every weekend he finds new projects.”

It was Dick’s turn at the counter. Dammit, he’d left his wallet over at Miss Posner’s, he had no choice but to do as she’d asked him to. “Please put these on Carolyn Posner’s bill.”

He saw Jason’s face register the fact, though he didn’t say anything. Dick knew the odds of this kind of thing staying quiet once someone thought they saw something, or even just thought they’d seen something were close to nonexistent.

 

* * *
 

When he got back to the apartment he didn’t bother saying anything to anyone and about the seventh time he asked ‘Miss Posner’ where something was or how they wanted this or that done she finally said, “Dick, please, just call me Carolyn and this is Emily, okay? I mean at least while we’re not in school.”

He nodded, laughing while some part of him clued in that they’d just turned some kind of corner. He’d half expected it to happen and, hey, he was only human, right?

The work went easily, they all got along and it wasn’t any kind of brain surgery to paint a wall. It turned out that they were just doing the living room and the kitchen, neither room all that big and so the three of them had them done in less than four hours, including the trim.

Finally, work just about finished and all of them hungry, they took a break. “I’ll get the pizza, Carol—pepperoni and mushroom okay for everyone?”

“Sounds good, Em. I’ll call it in.” A few minutes later she went to pick up the pies while Carolyn and Dick started cleaning up.

He covered what was left in the paint cans with the lids, standing on them to get them tightly sealed (his dad had always called that the ‘paint can dance’), pulled up the plastic tarps and wadded them into garbage bags then moved onto cleaning out the brushes. His hands in the kitchen sink, rubbing dish soap into the bristles and with the water running over the radio, he didn’t hear Carolyn, startled when he felt her standing beside him, using the same soap to get the paint off her hands. She gave him a playful shove with her shoulder to get some more room for herself. Teasing, he shoved back.

Her hip gave him another push. He flicked some water on her face just before she grabbed the sprayer hose and soaked his tee shirt. “It needs washing anyway, you can thank me!”

He twisted the nozzle away from her, holding both her hands in one of his and loaded the now clean brush with water, flicking it at her. “Stoppit!” Carolyn twisted out of his grip, both of them laughing, everything within six feet getting soaked when she regained control of the hose in a full out water fight until he got her in a neck lock and bent her head under the running water.

She started screaming, shrieking and sputtering, kicking with her feet on the wet floor, slipping as they both went down in a sodden pile with Dick on top of her, their faces close together.

Without stopping to think, Carolyn, still laughing, reached up and kissed him, full on then pulled away, horror on her face as she realized she’d crossed the line with a student and a minor. “Oh Jesus, I’m sorry.”

Dick didn’t say anything. He wasn’t shocked or upset; he’d been around enough that it was hardly his first kiss and so he lowered his head and kissed her back.

Neither of them really planned it, neither of them was really surprised. Pulling back they looked at one another as they heard Emily’s car pull in and the slam of her door closing.

Dick got to his feet and offered his hand to help her up before the roommate could see them.

TBC
 

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