Little One

The New Teacher

After being taken to IHOP for pancakes, Amara and Gabriel came back home. Amara was in higher spirits now and skipped through the house to the tv room. However, her mood instantly changed when she saw who was in the room watching tv.

Benjamin.

He noticed her and smiled. "Hey," he said.

Amara blinked. "Um...hey?"

He got up and walked to her. "What are you doing home?"

Amara shifted her feet and looked down. "Long story."

"Are you feeling okay?" Why did he even care? Amara shook her head and turned to leave but Benjamin grabbed her hand to stop her. "Hey, wait a second."

Amara paused. Did he just grab her hand? She looked at their hands then she looked at him. "What is it?" she asked in annoyance.

"Are you okay?" he asked with concern in his voice.

Amara glared up at him. "Why do you even care?"

Benjamin scoffed at her. "I guess...I dunno."

Amara rolled her eyes and walked away, but Benjamin followed her. She went into the kitchen to look for a snack so she started rummaging through the pantry. A bag of Lays chips was at the top and she went to reach for it but couldn't. She grunted as she got on her tippy toes.

"You want me to get that for you?" Benjamin asked, laughing at her.

"No, I got it," she replied with a groan.

Benjamin sighed and reached up, easily grabbing the chips. Amara growled and grabbed at the chips but he pulled it back. She narrowed her emerald eyes at him.

"Give me the chips."

Benjamin shook his head, opened the bag and took a chip to eat. "Not until you say please."

Amara jutted her jaw to the side, looking very annoyed. "Please."

Benjamin wiggled his eyebrows and put another chip in his mouth. "Naw, I don't think you mean it."

Amara snatched at the bag but he pulled back again. She was trying not to smirk at his playfulness. Benjamin held the bag over his head and gave her a devious smile. Amara jumped up for it but he moved it out of her reach. She tried again but missed by an inch.

"Benjamin, I'm not in the mood. Just give me the damn chips!"

"Not until you tell me what happened."

Amara huffed a puff of air. "You're such a child! Give me the chips!"

She jumped again and snatched at the bag but Benjamin was too quick for her.

"Tell me why you're home from school and I'll give you the chips."

Amara sighed in irritation. "Mrs. Johnson said I was responsible for the death of the Pale Moon Pack. Because I'm cursed. Now give me the-"

"She what?!" Benjamin snarled angrily. "You should've killed her where she stood!"

Amara blinked in shock at him. "Oh for crying out loud, it's no worse than the things you've said to me!"

A frown appeared on Benjamin's face. "I know, but-"

"But what, Benjamin? You're no better than her! You're no better than anyone who has made me feel guilty for the death of my pack, or made me feel bad for having a black wolf, or made me feel like I really am cursed! You've always been right along side them all! What makes you so different?!" Amara shouted in his face.

Benjamin's frown deepened and he sighed. "You're right. I'm no different. But I was wrong and so are they."

Amara blinked madly. Did he really just say that? "...Excuse me?"

"I was wrong to bully you about it and so is everyone else. You didn't kill your pack and you're not cursed."

Amara c****d her head to the side, eyeing him suspiciously. "Is this a joke? Are you setting me up for one of your stupid pranks?"

"What? No."

"I'm not falling for it, Benjamin!" Amara snagged the bag of chips from him and walked out of the kitchen.

"Amara!" he called out.

Amara ignored him and stormed up the stairs to her room, shut the door and locked it. She growled in frustration and sat on the bed. The nerve of him! This was an all time low for him to try and trick her this way.

"Amara, open the door please," she heard Benjamin say behind the door.

"Go away, Benjamin!" she snapped.

"Please? I swear I'm not pulling a prank."

"I don't believe you! Now go away!"

Amara heard Benjamin walk away from her door and she scowled, resting on her bed and digging into the chips. She turned on the tv in her room and started watching some Dragon Ball Z. It was a fight between Goku and Frieza on the planet Namek.

As the show went in, Amara finished her bag of chips and tossed them in the garbage. She was now very thirsty. She went down to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water then quickly went back to her room to avoid Benjamin. She plopped back on the bed and continued watching her show. Apparently it was a DBZ marathon.

Amara thought about the events of that day and couldn't honestly say if it was a good or bad day. Mrs. Johnson insulted her, bad. She got fired, good. Amara got pancakes, also good. Benjamin...

"I wonder what he's up to..." she thought. "Dakota, do you think he was being sincere?"

"I think so, but I wonder why this sudden change with him has happened. Perhaps you should ask him?" Dakota replied.

"Hmm." Amara turned off the tv and got off the bed, then she left her bedroom in search of Benjamin. He had some explaining to do. "Benjamin?" she called out.

His bedroom door opened and Amara gasped. He was dripping wet and was in nothing but a towel draped around his waist. And he was gorgeous that way. She immediately turned away.

"Yes Amara?" he said.

"I was...wondering if we could talk?"

"Oh, now you want to talk..."

Amara rolled her eyes and turned to face him, but her cheeks instantly flushed at the sight of him so she looked away.

"Yes, now can you please get dressed?"

"Why? See something you like?"

"No," she replied through gritted teeth.

Benjamin chuckled and sighed. "Alright, hang on a minute. I'll meet you in your room."

Amara nodded and went back her room. After a few minutes of waiting, Benjamin walked in with a white t-shirt and a pair of bootcut blue jeans. He hooked his thumbs into his pockets and leaned against the door frame.

"So...what's up?" he asked her.

Amara bit her lip and stared at him. "Were you being serious earlier? About...all that stuff you said? I mean really serious?"

Benjamin nodded. "Mmhmm."

Amara sighed and walked to him. "Why?"

He rubbed the back of his head and made a confused expression. "I don't know. I just woke up one day and...felt different about you."

Amara squinted her eyes at him. "You expect me to believe that?"

"I guess not, but I do feel different about you, Amara. I've wronged you and I would like to make up for it."

Amara gave him a nod. "Okay."

"So you'll let me try to make things up?"

Amara threw her hands up. "I guess so."

What harm could it do, really? It'd be one less bully to worry about, anyway.

"Thanks, Amara," Benjamin said with a smile.

"Uh, you're welcome, I guess."

Benjamin snickered and looked out in the hallway. "Well, I need to head out. I got a date. But if you let me, I can take you to school tomorrow."

Amara smiled bashfully. "Um, okay. Sure."

Benjamin nodded and left her room. Amara shut the door and blinked. What the hell was going on with Benjamin?

X===================X

The next day, Amara let Benjamin drive her to school. She really needed to get her own car. Maybe she could ask for a raise at her job so she could afford one. She thanked Benjamin, got out of the car and walked into school. She wondered who would be their substitute teacher.

When she walked into math class, her feet stopped at the sight before her.

At the blackboard was a very tall, very well dressed man. He couldn't be older than his early twenties and he had the most beautiful light blue eyes Amara had ever seen on anyone. He had a small mole on his left cheek which she found adorable and he had a stubble beard and mustache. His hair was red and curly and tousled back with some sort of hair product. He wore a gray suit with black suspenders, a black tie and a white shirt.

"Holy moly..." Dakota said. "This is the new math teacher?"

"Maybe he's just a substitute," Amara thought.

"Hello. I'm Mr. Shaw, your new math teacher," he introduced himself with a Scottish accent.

"Oh sweet Goddess, he's Scottish," Amara thought.

"Um...uh...hi," Amara stammered. "I'm Amara Jenson."

"It's nice to meet you, Amara."

Amara smiled awkwardly and noticed she was the only one in class besides herself and Mr. Shaw. She gulped and quickly took her seat, pulling out her math book and notebook. How did they find a new permanent teacher so quickly? As she was going over the lesson in her book, she noticed Mr. Shaw was looking at her and she lifted her gaze to meet his. He was studying her intently with his icy blue eyes and Amara found herself blushing.

"So, um...you're from Scotland?" she blurted out.

Mr. Shaw chuckled. "You caught the accent, huh? Yes, I'm from Scotland."

"Huh."

Amara went back to looking at her math book but she could feel his eyes on her still. She raised her eyes once more and blinked.

"Um, not to be rude but...is there a reason you're staring at me?" she asked.

"I apologize, Amara. I know it's a little inappropriate, but I was informed that you have a black wolf and you're...not at all what I expected."

"Oh great, another hater."

"Word gets around fast here, I guess," she muttered through clenched teeth.

Before the teacher could say anything else, the rest of the class came waltzing in. Some of the girls took one look at Mr. Shaw and started giggling amongst themselves. Soon the bell rang and Mr. Shaw wrote his name on the board.

"Hello, class. I'm Mr. Shaw, your new math teacher. I'm from Glasgow, Scotland. Now why don't you all stand up, introduce yourselves to me and say one thing about yourself?"

All the kids looked at each other with confused faces before they started naming off their names and introducing themselves. When he got to Amara, she swallowed hard and stood up from her desk.

"I'm Amara Jenson, and I'm-"

"Cursed!" someone yelled.

The whole class burst into giggles and Mr. Shaw narrowed his eyes. "Excuse me, Mr. Lang, was it?"

"Yeah?" Kevin Lang said.

"Why don't you head down to the principal's office and explain to him that you interrupted my class?"

Amara's jaw dropped and her eyes went wide. Did the teacher just defend her? Kevin groaned, grabbed his stuff and left the room. Mr. Shaw looked back at Amara.

"You may continue, Amara," he said.

Amara grasped her arm and sighed. "I'm Amara Jenson and my favorite band is Metallica," she said before sitting down.

The rest of the class introduced themselves and then Mr. Shaw jumped right into the lesson that Mrs. Johnson left off on. Amara had issues focusing on the lesson because she kept thinking about what Benjamin had said yesterday. But she was also distracted by the new teacher's accent. It was so...so...sexy.

"Damnit, Amara, pull yourself together," Amara thought.

Suddenly the bell rang and everyone started putting their stuff in their backpacks.

"Now, remember class, I want you to do the odd numbers on pages forty one and forty two of your math books tonight," Mr. Shaw reminded. Amara got out of her seat and walked towards the door. "Amara?"

She stopped and turned to look at Mr. Shaw. "Yes?"

Mr. Shaw leaned back in his chair and eyed her intensely. "I'm sorry about what Kevin said to you. Are you okay?"

Amara blinked and pulled her backpack up on her shoulder. "Yes, I'm fine. Um, it's okay. I'm used to it by now."

Mr. Shaw made a soft frown. "So this is a common occurance?"

"Yes. With a lot of people."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

Amara shook her head. "It's fine. There are plenty others who think I'm more of a blessing, really. Which is nice."

"I see. Well, if you ever need to talk about this bullying, Amara, my door is always open."

Amara blinked a few times. "Um, sure. Thanks."

"You're welcome," he said with a smile.

Amara turned and left the class with a small smile on her face. Well, that was certainly refreshing.

X===================X

By the end of the school day, Amara was in high spirits. Nobody had teased her today which she found rather odd but it was a welcome change. She bounded down the steps towards Benjamin's car and got in with a smile on her face. He looked at her with a grin.

"Well somebody's in a good mood," he said.

"Yeah," she said, buckling her seat belt. "Only one person made fun of me today and our new teacher made him go to the principal's office."

"What new teacher?" Benjamin asked as they drove away.

"Mrs. Johnson's replacement. Didn't I tell you that your dad had her fired for what she said to me?"

Benjamin laughed. "No. Well, I'm glad that b***h is gone. Now, who's this new teacher?"

Amara smiled to herself. "His name is Mr. Shaw. He's from Scotland."

"Scotland, huh? I wonder what he's doing here?"

Amara shrugged. "I dunno but he seems very nice," she said with a dreamy sigh.

Benjamin tensed. "Nice, huh?"

"Yeah. And, well, he's actually very...easy on the eyes," Amara giggled.

Amara saw Benjamin grip the steering wheel tightly. "Easy on the eyes? Do you got a crush on him or something?"

"No," she said bashfully.

Benjamin slammed on the brakes and turned to look at her intensely.

"Amara, are you lying to me?" he growled.

Amara scrunched her face in confusion. "No, and even if I was, what business of it is yours?"

Benjamin bit his lip and growled. "Amara, you can't have a crush on a teacher!"

"Oh why not? It's not like anything will happen!" she snapped.

Benjamin's eyes flashed with anger. "So you do have a crush on him!"

"Alright, so what if I do? Why are you getting so angry about it?!"

Amara didn't actually have a crush on her new teacher, but she was mildly curious to see where this argument was going. She was very confused as to why Benjamin would be so infuriated about it.

"Wait a minute...are you...are you jealous?" Amara asked in shock.

"What? No! I'm just a concerned party!" Benjamin yelled.

"Since when are you allowed to be a concerned party?!"

"I thought since yesterday, after our talk!"

"Well you're still a long way from being in my inner circle, buddy!" Amara shouted before unbuckling her seatbelt and getting out of the car.

"Where are you going?!" Benjamin yelled.

"I can walk from here!" Amara yelled behind her.

"Fine!" Benjamin bellowed before slamming the door and speeding off.

Amara huffed and puffed angrily on the side of the road and walked towards the forest. Once she was there, she took off her clothes and shoes, put them in her backpack and shifted into her wolf.

"What an asshole," Dakota said.

"Yeah, no kidding," Amara said.

Amara picked up the backpack into her mouth and started trotting off towards home when she sniffed something in the air. There were multiple wolves about. A lot of them.

They appeared out from behind the trees with their jaws drooling and snarls erupting from their throats.

"Oh great," Amara thought.