In My Mind Only

Ray Toro. The only student to have such a negative effect on me, and by negative I mean the inappropriate kind for a teacher, such as myself, to have. It all began when I was grading papers a few months back, and I noticed that one student hadn't turned one in. That was Ray. That was also the same day Frank, another student, made himself known in a big way.

"Excuse me, Mr. Toro, I have to ask why it is you haven't turned in your assignment?" I asked calmly. I was slightly upset, because I enjoy reading everything my students write. I enjoy their thoughts on every topic we discuss in class. This time, it was their opinion on the famous play Romeo and Juliet. Which, in my opinion, is way too overrated, but it's in the curriculum so I have to teach it. So far, every student had done the whole "Romeo and Juliet did nothing wrong. It was the parents. It was romantic that they died for each other" crap.

"I'm sorry, sir. I'm trying to figure out how I feel about it," he excused. 'He's really cute,' I thought without thinking. I took a step back, a bit surprised by my sudden thought.

"A-ah, okay. I'll give you until the end of the week." I turned on my heel and walked back to my desk. Once seated, I looked back at Ray and watched as he talked with his friends. He was listed in that "popular" category of the high school chain.

I watched as he slightly threw his head back in laughter. My eyes trailed down to his throat, watching as his Adam's apple moved up and down in tune with his laughter. I shook my head, and feeling my cheeks heat up, I looked back to the ungraded papers I had left. I got to work, quickly forgetting about my sudden attraction to my student.

"Excuse me, sir!" I heard. I raised my head and saw my other student Frank Iero.

"Yes?" I asked, smiling.

"I need to use the latrine," he said bluntly. Ah, that's right. He's in that small JROTC (Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps) program; one of the few who had the guts to take it. I heard it was a difficult class and a lot of people dropped it. Seems Frank had adapted to their Army language.

"Go ahead," I say and he wastes no time in walking out the door.

Frank was the only student who shared my thoughts on Romeo and Juliet. He went with the claim, and I quote, "This play is overrated. Big time. Who in their right mind would die for someone else due to love. I say you live for the people you love. All the people who died in this play, didn't really need to. Just like Julius Caesar didn't need to die in Shakespeare's other play."

He was an interesting kid, indeed. He took everything very seriously, as far as I could tell. I guess they called him by his last name for a reason. He always seemed to be scowling. Unconsciously, my eyes seemed to travel to Ray once again. Finally, the bell rang. I hadn't realized we were on early release schedule. My first period ran for the door and a few minutes later, my second period trailed in. It didn't hit me that Frank had left his things in my classroom until he came in, face straight as always, only he was bruised and his hair and the collar of his shirt were soaking wet. Weird. It wasn't raining outside, was it? I heard there was going to be rain, but it wasn't raining right now. He just grabbed his things and walked out of the room, without so much as an glance at anyone. His face was bruised, making it easy to tell he was fighting.

"Excuse me, class, I'll be right back. Just start up on your make-up work," I explained as I left the class. I saw Frank sitting outside on the curb near the secluded double-doors. Not many teacher or faculty came through this way unless they needed me. This wing only consisted with my classes. It was very small and I was the only teacher who knew kids came out here every now and then. So far, I'd only seen Frank out here the most. I opened the doors and he flinched as quickly turned and shielded himself.

"Hey, are you okay?" I asked, concerned. I knelt down beside him and he shrugged.

"Same as usual, I guess," he answered. I sighed softly and sat down next to him.

"Did someone hurt you?" I looked over at the high, unkempt grass.

"What makes you say that?" He questioned.

"I'm not blind, you know. I can see your face."

"When or when you're not looking at Ray like he's candy?" He said defensively. I gaped at him.

"Wh-what are you talking about?" I asked hesitantly. He turned away from me and then suddenly got up.

"Nothing. Sorry if I caused a scene, sir." Then he left, leaving me in shock. What am I going to do? He noticed my...infatuation with a student.

I'll just finish the school day and hope the cops don't show up in my class or at my home. I'll have to stay calm.
Yes, it was then that I realized the trouble was going to start and my life wasn't going to be the same no matter which angle you looked at it. I deemed myself a pervert. But, really, I didn't just want his body. I also wanted his affection. And I'll be damned if I went down without receiving that affection.

I shook my head in disappointment. Where the hell was my mind headed? I needed to get away from all of this. But mainly him. The affect he had on me in only a class period is too surreal. I needed out. And so I got one. I took a vacation around that time, listing it as a personal problem issue. I just wasn't expecting it to get worse.

Thankfully, I had a supporter and it was nice to know.

Notes

I'm kind of just trying this out, so I hope I can continue this story with support. This is my first story, so excuse my newbie-ness ^-^

-OAIF <3