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Message-ID: <53493asstr$1144620603@assm.asstr-mirror.org>
From: Shalon Wood <dstar@pele.cx>
Subject: {ASSM} Prudence, TX Population 1276 29 (Mff ff Mm rom)
Lines: 332
Date: Sun, 09 Apr 2006 18:10:03 -0400
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Newsgroups: alt.sex.stories.moderated,alt.sex.stories
Followup-To: alt.sex.stories.d

Standard disclaimers apply; this story may or may not contain, in any
given part, graphic depictions of lesbianism, homosexuality, group sex,
bdsm, underage (teen) sex, magic, occultism, violence, and biting 
sarcasm.  If you're underage, or if for any other reason it's illegal 
for you to read this, or you're disturbed by the content, please don't 
read it.

Archived at http://prudence.pele.cx, and we've got a web-forum at
http://playground.pele.cx/forums as well, for discussion of both
Prudence and our other stories. Send an email to velvet@pele.cx and
I'll add you to the mailing list to be notified when Prudence
updates. 

Comments *greatly* appreciated.

Enjoy,

Velvet
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With unhappy reluctance, Mark decided the next day that he couldn't really
miss work again. Kristen watched him sadly as he dressed. He buttoned his
shirt, then bent over and kissed her. "I'm sorry, love."

She smiled weakly. "It's okay. Just carry me down to Daddy's office before
you leave, 'k?"

"Of course." Carefully, he carried her down the stairs, tenderly placing
her on the couch and tucking a blanket around her, making sure she was
settled with everything she needed, then forced himself to leave her. She
was still glowing softly.

As soon as he walked into the school, he was sure that he'd made a mistake.
The teenagers were all clustered in quiet, frightened groups, whispering
and darting suspicious glances around. It was real fear, too, not just
ghoulish thrill. A chill went down his back, and he cursed quietly under
his breath before trying to find out why.

The gossip was easy to come by. About half a dozen people who lived in the
'town' part of Prudence woke up to find their doors painted with large X's,
in what appeared to be dried blood. This was something new, something that
had never happened before, and people were really shaken by it. The only
pattern that anyone was able to find was that the victims were all people
who hadn't attended last night's Wednesday church service, but other than
that, there were no similarities between the houses marked. It wasn't
everyone who didn't attend, though, because Mark knew that Steven's house
wasn't touched, nor was his when he drove by it. Still... 

Before going to class, Mark took the time to call Steven and give him a
heads-up on the situation. Steven, like him, figured it was just a matter
of kids playing pranks, but there was no reason to take chances -- he'd
keep an eye out.

There were two other surprises waiting for him at work, as well. First, the
superintendent, Mr. Steger, had decided to return to Prudence early. He'd
been due in on Monday, but thought that it'd be better if he came in early
to get started on paperwork. Second, the school counselor had left a note
saying she'd like to talk to him during his conference hour. Remembering
the way the woman had treated Kristen, he folded the note with a grim
smile.

Fortunately, Kristen's early morning glow meant that he didn't need to run
home to feed her, and he was able to go to the woman's office, instead. He
leaned on the door frame, looking at her for a moment before going in. He'd
seen her before, of course, but, in deference to Kristen's wishes, had
tried to avoid her. 

Known to all as "Ms. Angie," she was a favorite of the students. She was in
her mid-thirties, a very conservative looking woman with soft brown hair
and large, innocent-looking violet eyes. _Pretty, in a "girl next door"
kind of way,_ he thought, idly, without any warmth, then said, "You wanted
to see me?" 

She jumped, looking up at him nervously, then smiled. "Yes, come in,
please," she said, motioning to a chair with one hand, fiddling with a pen
with the other.

He closed the door and sat down, leaning back and relaxing, and watched
her. He had no intention of making anything easy for her. 

She fidgeted with the things on her desk for a minute, avoiding looking at
him, then sighed. "Mr. Hasseran, this is a very difficult subject for me,
please have patience and hear me out."

He raised an eyebrow curiously. "Okay?"

"I... certain rumors have come to my attention," she said. "Please
understand that I'm not accusing you of anything, but I do have reason to
believe in this case that they might well be true."

He expected the stab of anger that shot through him, but he didn't expect
it to be so hot, so violent. Still, he was careful not to let it show as he
asked, calmly, "Rumors?"

She firmed her lip and nodded. "Rumors involving... a teacher here... and
one of his students."

"Me and Kristen," he said, flatly, his eyes glittering.

She flinched. "I will not name names. Gossip is not a valid source of
information. There is no legal requirement for me to report gossip. I was
speaking of a... a hypothetical situation."

"Ah. I see," Mark said, his voice cool.

"And, if such a thing _were_ happening," she said in a rush, "if a teacher
were to be unable to resist, for some reason, the offers of one of his
students, well... teachers are only human, and to fail once may be a crime,
but it is understandable. However, to pursue an on-going relationship would
be a different matter entirely. A young girl is emotionally vulnerable to
an older man. Such a thing could be very damaging to her, could make her
dependant on the man to such an extent that when he broke off the
relationship, it could be devastating to her, possibly even fatally so."

He listened to her little speech, the anger coiling up his spine,
simmering, heating, but not quite boiling over into uncontrollable rage.
Not quite. He managed to hold his temper, just barely; maybe it was
because, to his utter confusion, she seemed honestly concerned.

Mark nodded. "I know what you're saying, Angie. I can assure you that
nothing illegal or improper is occurring between... the people you may have
heard rumors about. There _are_ situations which would give rise to such
rumors, yes, but then... anyone who spends any time at all with one of the
students in particular could have such rumors, I think, no matter how well
the students know the teacher. I mean, everything I've heard about you says
that you're a wonderful person, a wonderful counselor, for example. The
kids love you. They trust you. Yet, if you were to spend any time at all
with, say, Kristen, I suspect the same rumors would start up -- even though
the kids _know_ better." He smiled inwardly at the slight twitch she wasn't
able to suppress.

"Mr. Hasseran... Mark... I really hope so. Because I... _we_... have to
think of the good of the student, and do what is best for her, no matter
what it might cost m... us personally."

_Hmmm,_ he thought, then looked at her, his face practically radiating
sincerity. "I suspect you may have heard rumors about me and Kristen. I can
assure you, in all honesty, that there is nothing at all illegal or immoral
occurring between us. We do end up spending a certain amount of time
together, but I'm sure you know what her father expects. I am _not_,
despite anything the rumor mill might suggest, having an affair with her. I
won't insult your intelligence by denying her..." He paused for a moment.
"I'm not even sure what to call it. 'Appeal' seems inadequate, somehow. I'm
sure that you've felt it, even though you're a woman. But..." He shook his
head. "I'm not going to hurt her. No matter how... attractive she might be,
it wouldn't be right to take advantage of that and then leave her."

She flushed guiltily, and Mark smiled, raising an eyebrow. "I see you have
felt it," he said.

She stood hastily. "Well. I see you have thought about this, and you seem
to be fully aware of the dangers involved. I just wanted to be sure you
realized how damaging such a thing could be for a young girl, but I see
that you do. I'm sorry if I underestimated you, but it's best to be safe on
things like this. I won't keep you further." She smiled tightly.

Mark had absolutely no intention of leaving without twisting the knife a
bit further. He nodded. "Yes, I do understand how damaging it could be. It
could... if I gave in, and then rejected her... she trusts me." He shook
his head. "It would devastate her," he said, watching Angie closely. 

Her tremble was slight, but it was there. "I'm glad you understand that,"
she said quietly.

He nodded again. "I've spent a lot of time talking to her, you know.
She's... well, would you believe that she thought for a while that maybe it
was wrong for her to... change her ways? That she owed it to the boys to go
back to her old ways?" He shook his head sadly. "I tried to get her to come
talk to you, but apparently, she was too embarrassed -- or did she come
talk to you about it, and just not tell me?" He raised an eyebrow
inquiringly.

Angie paled visibly. "No, she hasn't talked to me."

He sighed. "Damn. I don't understand it..."

She straightened up, regaining some of her composure. "It may be that
Kristen isn't comfortable talking with women. Many children who lose their
mothers at a young age are that way."

He looked thoughtful. "Possibly. I'd just thought maybe you could explain
to her why she doesn't owe anything to the boys who used her for sex, then
kicked her out and wouldn't have anything to do with her."

She flinched, then covered the motion by putting her hand to her forehead.
"I... I wish I could. I'm sorry, Mark, I have a nasty headache."

"Are you okay, Angie? Maybe you should sit back down," he suggested with
sweet concern. "I _am_ concerned about one thing, though. You said you had
some reason to believe the rumors you were hearing were true?"

She sat down abruptly, cradling her head in her hands. "Just... just the
extreme attractiveness of the girl involved, and the fact that her...
experience... might lead a man to think that she wasn't as vulnerable as
she, in truth, likely is."

"Ah," he said. "Well, honestly, from talking to her, I'd say she was very,
very vulnerable, especially to anyone she trusted."

Angie sighed deeply. "Yes, I'm sure she is."

He stared at her in silence for a little bit, wondering if her guilt was
for giving in, or for hurting Kristen, finally concluding that it was most
definitely both. Very, very quietly, he asked, "Why did you do it?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," she said, sharply. "Now, if
you'll excuse me, I think I'll see if I can leave early." She stood up and
headed for the door.

"She told me."

She froze, her back to him.

"I told you," he said, "I've spent a lot of time talking to her. She told
me. Why did you do it? Not giving in, I understand that. But what you did
afterward... why?"

She didn't answer, didn't say anything, but her shoulders started to shake.
He stood and walked over to her, looking down at her. "You're lucky. She
doesn't hate you. If she hadn't forgiven you... I'd have convinced her to
tell her father." He looked into her eyes. "_Why_?"

She whispered, "I was scared... terrified. I'd never felt anything like
that before."

"She thought you were right, you know. She thought she _was_ a demon."

She squeezed her eyes shut. "I'm not sure she isn't. But if she is, it's
not her fault."

"Look at me, Angie," he demanded, and she did, looking up at him with some
of the most pain-filled, guilty eyes he'd ever seen. "You realize," he
said, "that if I thought you were likely to do that to some other student,
it wouldn't matter whether she forgave you or not? I don't mean the sex. If
you'd just slept with her, and told her thanks, I think she'd have been
fine. It was the cruelty afterwards that was inexcusable."

Angie nodded miserably. "I know. I panicked. There's no way to justify it."


"And you never apologized." He sighed. "To be really blunt, I'm having to
do a lot of your job with her. I don't think she'll even be able to trust
you enough for that. I don't mind; I really like her. She's... have you
ever seen her artwork?"

She nodded shakily. "Yes. It's beautifully expressive."

"She's really good," he said. "I don't mind helping her, but between that
and her father expecting me to protect her..." He shrugged. "I don't think
there's any way to avoid the rumors."

She shook her head. "No, I don't think there is." She hesitated before
saying, "Mark, her... pull... is unnatural. I don't think she realizes how
strong it is. If you're telling the truth, and you're not having an affair
with her, be careful. I'm not sure it _can_ be resisted if she turns her
full attention to you."

"I am careful. I try to have a chaperone with us whenever possible -- you
know Kayla? I figured, if it was a boy, well, the rumors would just be
worse."

Angie nodded, relieved. "Kayla's a good girl. Extremely sensible."

"I really like her, too," Mark said. "Brilliant. And she seems to know a
little about everything."

Angie smiled hesitantly. "Yes. I've noticed the two of them becoming
friends recently. It's probably the best thing that could happen for
Kristen."

"Oh?" he asked, wondering if she was making the increasingly common
assumption that the two girls were 'together'.

Apparently, though, she wasn't, because she said, firmly, "The girl _needs_
a friend. Someone she can trust. Someone who's never had a problem telling
_anyone_ no."

Mark nodded. "I agree. Kayla does seem to be good for Kristen. And I've
noticed that Kristen's doing better in my class -- not than she was doing
_badly_ to start with."

"She's _always_ been a good student, Mark."

"Yes, but she's getting better. I think maybe having more time to study is
helping."

She smiled again. "Good. I'm glad. I wish..." She looked away, voice
trailing off. "Anyway. I'm extremely happy for her."

"You wish?" he asked.

She sighed. "I wish I _could_ help her. But quite bluntly, I do not trust
myself around the girl."

He nodded. "I understand that. Sometimes it's been difficult... but I can
honestly say I've never done _anything_ with her that I shouldn't. If I had
to, I could go to her father and give him a minute-by-minute description of
the time we've spent together. And if you've ever met her father..." He
shuddered a little.

"I rather like the man, actually," Angie said. "He's a bit absent-minded,
but compared to _some_ of the parents here... well, a touch of eccentricity
is more or less harmless."

"Oh, I like him well enough," Mark said, smiling, "but I _never_ want to
get him mad at me. Ever. I take it some of the parents aren't so harmless?"


She frowned. "I'm afraid that's confidential information. Let's just say
that there are things that I do not approve of, but are, nevertheless,
perfectly legal."

"Ah. I see. Well, without breaching confidentiality, if there's ever
anything I can do to help, let me know."

She smiled tightly. "Just continue to provide contrast, Mark. You've given
a lot of the students, particularly the girls, a new outlook on things."

He flushed, surprised. "Well. I'm not sure what I'm doing, but I'll try to
keep doing it."

"Good." She smiled at him again, and he found himself returning it.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

If you like this, you might want to take a look at Strange Love, an
e-zine of sf/fantasy/paranormal erotica. The first issue is on sale
now for $2 at:

http://strangelove.pele.cx

Take a look!

-- 
Pursuant to the Berne Convention, this work is copyright with all rights
reserved by its author unless explicitly indicated.
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