My Taboo Obsession

Chapter Three

Diana POV

The first thing I heard on Friday morning was the sound of my alarm. Though I had set it to wake me up at past five in the morning, that didn't make it any less painful. With a groan, I stretched the closest hand and put it off, trying to go back to sleep. However, that didn't work so I got out of bed and pulled down my yoga mat.

I spent the next half hour stretching and doing poses, while playing my instructor's videos. I wasn't very sure what my mom would do if she saw me in this position soearly, so I opted for earpods. While my mom was a lover of exercise and keeping fit, she certainly wouldn't appreciate me waking up early and trying so hard. But what else could I do?

The memory of being rejected by my first crush still played in my head every morning, and even though it had been five years since the incident, I still felt embarrassed.

"I can't go out with you, Diana. Everyone I know will laugh at me," The boy said, and I remember being confused.

"What do you mean?"

"Look at you." There was a disgusting look in his face, and even before he said it, I already knew his thoughts. "You're fat and ugly. I want a beautiful girlfriend." He left me with those words, and every morning when I woke up, it was my inspiration to look better.

By the time I finished, it was almost time to wake up for school. Having nothing else to do, I quickly prepared and went down to eat while waiting for my mom and step dad to wake up. Usually, they were early risers but on Fridays and weekends, they slept in a bit more.

It was kind of cute and endearing to get used to, and it was the kind of little things that made me happy for my mom. Though I was only a child, I saw how pained my mom was when Dad left. It wasn't easy to get used to not having him around, but I think she had it worse. Maybe it was because they had spent more than a decade together before finally deciding to get married.

I knew the first question I would ask my dad if I saw him again was why he decided to leave us. Those thoughts were still in my head when their door opened and mom bounced downstairs with a smile on her face.

"Why are you–?" I cut myself off and shook my head. Nah, I didn't want to know what they were up to.

"Baby! Good morning, darling. Already ready for school? Let me just grab my bag."

"Why?" There was a frown on my face. "Aren't you supposed to stay home today?"

"Yes, from work, but today is my weekly checkup. So, I have to go in."

I nodded my head and watched as my step dad came down as well. Like he did everytime, they dropped me off at school and then continued down the road to the hospital.

There was only one reason why I didn't complain. First, not a lot of students showed up early on Fridays. It was a half day of school, so either most people didn't show up at all, or they came late. Lily and her minions belonged to the second class, so I could breathe freely all the way through most of the day's lectures.

The weirdness started exactly before our last class. Cathy, like me, came to school early and since she didn't have history club lessons or any other own, she stayed with me throughout.

"What do you think about the dresses?" She asked eagerly as she continously swiped left and right on her phone. She was going to a Thanksgiving dinner next month, and really wanted to make an impression on her extended family. The first thing that stood out to me was the size of the clothes.

My best friend used a size 10, while my smallest gown was a 16. This was no good. "I think the red one looks better."

"Mmm." There was a look of uncertainty on her face. "Are you sure that's not because it's your favourite colour?"

I burst into a short laugh. "No! I just like how the slit stands out, and with those little freckles of gold, you're going to be a stunner at the dinner."

"You think?"

"Yes." Another voice came from behind, and even without turning, I knew who it was. "At least you won't look like an over dressed pig, unlike some people."

"Hey! Don't you dare talk about Diana like that. You have no idea about anything."

Lily's voice remained sweet, but louder. "But, I didn't call anyone's name."

The whole class burst into laughter at that point, and I bent my head. This was her way of mocking me everytime, and I badly wanted to stand up to her. Say something that would hurt her feelings, but I wasn't that kind of person. Besides, it would only make things worse.

Cathy, however, didn't care about that. She stood up and pointed a finger to Lily's face. "You... you're mean, and I hope that comes back to bite you."

"Would you care to try it out first?"

There was a suggestive tone in her voice, and I inwardly cringed as Cathy blushed red and sat down. It was no sceret that Lily had done s****l stuff with some girls at school, but she always maintained she liked boys. Either way, I didn't want the attention to be on me again but it seemed like I didn't have to worry about that because our next lesson was History.

Immediately Mr. Lucien came in, everyone forgot about the back and forth between me, Cathy and Lily. Even the both of them. After two days, I quickly noticed there was always a smile on his face, and today was no exception. However, he looked shy and I couldn't help but frown. Wasn't he aware of how much everyone liked him already, even some of the guys?

"Hello. I suppose this is my first time here right?" There was a chorus of yes, and those that didn't speak eagerly nodded their heads.

"Okay. I'm Mr. Lucien, and I'm going to be your new History teacher till you leave these four walls," he continued to say and I couldn't help but look at my classmates. They all seemed so mesmerized, and it was weird to watch. Ever since the start of my school life, I had never come across a class this quiet and focused.

He smiled at us and turned to the board to write the topic of the day. Immediately he finished, Lily raised her hand and he pointed at her. "Mr. Lucien, we were taught this topic last year."

There was an unreadable look on his face. "What's your name?"

"Lily. Lily Hopkins." The look on her face was so sickening, I felt the urge to vomit. She was so good at pretending, and because no one called her out for it, she continued to do it. I hoped he saw right through her.

But if he did, there was no indication. Instead, his smile became wider and he furrowed his brow. "Any relation to Dr. Hopkins?"

"My dad," she answered proudly.

"Nice. Okay, so I know you've been taught this subject but we're going to delve deeper now. The history of land animals is something we cannot rush, especially when going into the extinct ones and their legends. Is that alright?"

"Yes, sir. Of course." Her voice was cherry, and it annoyed me. For a moment, I wished he would insult her instead of just ask for her name.

As the class progressed, it became obvious that it was his way of knowing students. Everybody who asked a question or rose their hands had to say their name, and for some reason, he seemed to know one or two of their family members. It was a bit creepy, because not once had I seen this man before now.

Where did he come from?

However, I couldn't deny that he knew how to teach. For the first time, I was finally understanding the subject. It didn't help that several times during the lesson, Cathy looked at me and smiled. "Told you he was good."

When the bell rang, I wasn't the only one sorry to see him leave. Still, everyone packed their books and began to file out of class. It was the weekend, and despite his looks, no one wanted to spend extra time at school looking at the History teacher.

"Excuse me. I didn't get your name in my class."

What?! I raised my head and there Mr. Lucien was, talking to me. Without any prompting.

"Umm, yeah. Diana."

"It's nice to meet you, Diana." He looked away for a moment, as if thinking, and then turned back to me. "Could you point me to the Physics lab? I still get lost around here."

"Umm, sure. If you leave this class, you'll see a staircase by your left. Just climb that, the lab is the second door by your left. You can't miss it."

There was a shy smile on his face again, but this time I didn't find it annoying. It was almost cute. Christ! I couldn't be seeing stuff like that. Without thinking much, I willed my legs to work and basically bolted out of there as first as I could. Different thoughts were running through my mind, and I couldn't help but think about why he talked to me.

"Diana, don't get ahead of yourself." I whispered, as I moved towards my locker. "You're probably just a familiar face that he saw and decided to ask. Nothing special there."

Yes, that was a very plausible explanation. Definitely not because he pointed me out for some reason I couldn't fathom.

The journey home was a blur. Throughout, I couldn't stop thinking about how he stopped me out of everyone else and asked for directions. I also didn't miss how intensely he looked at me. Maybe it was just wishful thinking, but I didn't see him looking at anyone else in class with that same interest. Even Lily. Despite my morals, it gave me a feeling of joy.

A part of me wanted to tell my mom what happened, and how there was a cute teacher at school. It was the sort of thing we talked about, but that thought was cut off as soon as I reached the door.

"You know you'll eventually have to tell her, Monica." It was the voice of my step faher and I frowned. Who were they going to tell what?

"I know," my mother's voice came with a sigh. "I don't just want my baby girl to feel bad about it."

"I know. I don't want that to, but it's better she hears it from us than from her peers. You know how teenagers can get."

"Yeah. Why can't the kids of these days be more like us? Just young and eager to see where life takes you." My mother paused and I heard the sound of cutting. It seemed like she was cooking. "These days, all they want to do is bicker and pick on each other."

"I know. So it's settled, we'll tell her?"

"Ohh. I don't know. Can't you do it? I hate breaking that kind of news to Diana. You know how much she loves her space. Isn't there an alternative to all this?"

Was it me? What was I going to feel bad about? I suddenly had a weird feeling about whatever it was, but I couldn't hold still. So, I bumped into the room with a curious look on my face.

"Tell me what?"