My French Teacher Claims I'm His Mate

Ch 2: Here Come the Troubles

At around seven thirty, Maria was riding with Kelly and Tyler in their new black BMW. Her boyfriend was so nervous about the results, whether he was going to be a part of the team or not, that he didn't say a word after the "Good morning" he had tossed out. But it was okay with Maria. She didn't blame him at all.

Kelly, on the other hand, was talking about how hot the French teacher was. Her friend just nodded absentmindedly from time to time.

Upon their arrival, they made a beeline to the classes' building, and were kind of hurrying so as not to be late, when Sandra came almost running to them. She flicked her hair and grinned foolishly.

Maria was looking at her as if she was crazy. They usually didn't mix. One could see perfectly why.

She, however, was eying Tyler in a way the brunette didn't give a damn about for she knew her boyfriend didn't like sluts –and Sandra was one of the worst.

"Welcome to the team. We were told today that you were going to be our quarter back." She had the talent to make her voice so sickly sweet, it made Maria want to gag...

'On a second thought, it might just be a curse,' Maria mused sarcastically.

Sandra's clone, Becky, came swaying her hips, put her hand on Tyler's arm and purred in what Maria assumed was supposed to be a seductive tone, "That is so awesome."

She kind of sounded dumb speaking like that. And Maria could barely resist the urge to roll her eyes at her. Then, glancing at her watch, she noticed they had still about five more minutes before the bell rang.

"Thanks, I guess," Tyler answered, his tone somewhere between happy and confused.

Both fake blondes glared at Maria, and then, in synch, turned around and went their own way.

What the hell was wrong with those girls?

Kelly's eyes were practically spitting fire when her best friend looked at her after their departure. "Who the hell do they think they are? They flirted with you shamelessly, in front of your girlfriend." She was addressing her twin in such an angry way, because of Maria, and more importantly, forgetting her, that this latter could only hope she would be able to make it out of her sight without her noticing.

No such luck!

She turned to look at her and told her in a reproach, still fuming, "And you didn't even say a word!"

"I should have?" To say Maria was confused by her little outburst would be the understatement of the year.

The usually bubbly blonde looked more pissed if that was even possible, "What do you think, smart one?"

Tyler was long gone. He had mumbled something about seeing the coach, but Maria was sure it was just an excuse. Kelly could be scary when she wanted to be. Therefore, Maria was left outside, alone, to deal with her best friend's fury.

She looked at her in wonder. She had her beautiful blue eyes glaring daggers, and her mid-back blond hair locks playing in the wind.

"I'm not the jealous type, Kelly."

And her friend knew it, so what was there to be angry about?

She looked at her strangely for a moment. Then, her eyes widening, she said in her I-just-discovered-something-big-today tone, "Then you don't love Tyler."

Now it was my Maria's eyes' turn to widen. She immediately denied with a vehement "Yes, I do!"

Her friend's gaze softened at that. And then, smiling, she added in that motherly tone she often took with her, "Of course you do. But you're not in love with him."

What the hell was she talking about? Maria had never been a big fan of philosophy.

'Freaking intriguing sentences,' she inwardly groaned, growing frustrated.

Kelly must have noticed her confused face, because she patted her on the back, and then proceeded to explain, "I mean you love him, but only as a good friend. Nothing else."

Why couldn't she have said so earlier?

Maria was about to answer her when the first bell rang. The two girls could only hurry to that damned, old, white building they had yet to enter. Kelly hastily waved goodbye, then went her way to the Spanish class, while Maria had to almost run to get to her French one, since it was in the second floor.

She was right in front of the door, ready to turn the handle, when the late bell rang.

'Damn it!' Maria inwardly grimaced. Needless to say, the flow of profanities came to her mind pretty quickly. Who would want a detention so soon in the school year?

She knocked on the door, and opened when she heard a small "Enter"

She was greeted by the sight of her French teacher sitting on his desk, looking absolutely and totally edible in a black button up shirt and dark blue jeans.

'Damn him for being so hot!' Maria averted her eyes, and sighed inwardly in dismay as she felt her body heating up.

She collected her thoughts, then apologized in what sounded like a calm tone, "Sorry I'm late, sir."

He smirked, then retorted, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "Désolé, Mademoiselle, mais je ne comprends pas ce que vous me dites." (*Sorry Miss, but I don't understand what you are telling me.)

Maria looked at him confused for a split-second, then it sank in. They were to talk to him only in French the entire time.

She smiled without even noticing, "Veuillez m'excuser pour le retard, Monsieur." (*Please forgive my tardiness, sir.)

His smirk got wider before he informed her of the awaited verdict, "Cela ne fait rien. Vous aurez le plaisir d'être la première à avoir une retenue avec moi." (*It's alright. You will have the pleasure to be the first to have a detention with me.)

Maria couldn't help but groan at that.

Smiling ever so slightly, he asked in a taunting tone, "Vous avez quelque chose à dire, Mademoiselle?" (You have something to say, Miss?)

Like a good pupil, Maria just scowled, and said nothing. She went straight to her desk.

She decided that she would keep her eyes off of him for this hour just to punish herself. He became that much less edible since that detention he gave her –or so she was knowingly deluding herself.

He made her actually read a whole page, that jerk!

'Is he seriously picking on me?' She inwardly face-palmed, cursing her bad luck.

Another girl read, but she had such a bad accent that he asked Maria to read again. Her French was flawless after all.

When she was about to start again, Sandra said in a high-pitched voice that made her want to put her hands over her ears, "Why does she get to read again?" She was putting so much disdain in her tone, it left Maria wondering once again why she hated her so much.

"Parlez en Français!" The teacher scolded seriously. (*Speak in French!)

She said what she meant in French with such a thick accent, the difference between both students couldn't have been clearer.

He answered saying that he was just explaining the poem to them, thus he would like for someone to read it well.

Whining as always, she argued right back, as she was used to getting her way, "But I could read too."

Then she added with so much venom in her voice, it shocked Maria, "Her mother is French."

Now, that was beyond the point.

"So?" Maria couldn't help the irritation that had seeped into her tone as she addressed her sworn enemy. She had no right –absolutely none– to talk ill about her mom.

"You shouldn't take this class." She flipped her hair as if to mark her words. "You still have that accent of yours after 3 years here, loser!"

Maria couldn't understand Sandra's reasoning. Why would she even try? She had decided to hate her the moment she had laid her eyes on her.

"Just go find some guy to..." Maria started in a loud, seemingly bored voice in which one could easily detect the anger, and then trailed off, remembering, just in time, that they were still in a classroom –in the front of a teacher no less.

'Oh damn!' She worriedly bit on her lower lip, keeping to herself that final word she was going to finish her retort with.

The teacher was actually looking at her, a small smirk adorning his kissable lips, his eyes gleaming with mischief as he told her, "I'll have a word with you later, Miss Jensen."

At that, Sandra was, yet again, faking a sad face. "She can be so mean to me," she sniffled, while wiping virtual tears with her handkerchief.

Maria managed to hold herself back, and merely muttered under her breath, "Like you are such an angel."

Mr Donnovan seemed to suppress a chuckle as he subtly coughed. "We shall continue next time," he said after a quick glance to his wrist watch, "Just enjoy the last remaining three minutes calmly."

'He couldn't have heard me, could he?' Maria looked warily ahead of her, then, in a matter of seconds, dismissed the thought.

'I'm going crazy,' she mentally scoffed at herself for even considering such a thing. He just could not have heard her. There was no question about it.

Maria started doodling in her notebook. Then, when the bell went off, she gathered her things, and went to talk to the hot jerk that was her teacher.

All her classmates were out of the classroom, when he finally told her in a serious tone, "You shouldn't start a fight in class."

"I didn't start it!" She exclaimed, on the defensive, before she dropped her gaze to the floor and pouted. 'Don't tell me he's taking her side,' she inwardly groaned.

He chuckled, then observed jokingly, "But you were getting there."

Maria looked at him and smiled, feeling kind of strange.

"I wish you had finished your sentence though," he grinned, playfulness making his eyes twinkle in a way that made her want to drown in those endless pools of green of his.

Maria turned a dark shade of pink at that, thanks to her embarrassment. It was pretty obvious what she had wanted to tell Sandra.

'Just go find some guy to screw,' she mentally finished her earlier sentence.

Mr Donnovan chuckled again, seeming to enjoy her blush, "Anyway, you will be having a whole week detention instead of only one day."

'Ah, non!' She inwardly cried out in protest. (*Oh, no!)

Her eyes widened in shock and she muttered a small though audible "So not fair".

He explained in a fake defensive tone, "Well, you were being rude in my classroom."

"Whatever," she replied, rolling her eyes, after a very short-lived frown. She would not give him the satisfaction of seeing her upset.

"Keep that up, and I'll make them two!" He teased, leaning in ever so slightly from where he was seated on his chair.

Maria's eyes widened at the little threat, the prospect so scary –two weeks!

Then, upon looking at his smiling face, she just burst off laughing, realizing he was just kidding. He joined her soon enough.

"Okay. I think I should go now." She told him when she had gained control over her breathing again.

"Yes, I guess you should," he conceded, looking quite begrudging to do so –or maybe that was just her imagination.

She was walking to the door when his voice stopped her, "Let me give you a late paper for your next class."

'Damn it, I can be so stupid sometimes' Maria let out a silent sigh at the thought. 'No, let's face it, it's actually hard thinking about anything but how it would feel like to have his bare skin under your exploring fingers and...'

Maria couldn't even begin to understand where that teasing, lustful voice had come from. Her thoughts were getting a little out of hand.

'Naughty! Naughty, Maria!' She inwardly scolded herself. That was most definitely not the way any student should think about the new teacher –or any teacher for that matter.

'It must be the hormones.' She reasoned, 'Yes, definitely the hormones.'

He was just too damn hot for his own good –or her own...

'No! I am not going down that road again. No, I will not fantasize about him yet again,' she reprimanded herself.

While she had been distracted by her lustful reveries, he had risen to his feet. Maria only noticed the fact when he slipped the late paper in her hand, and, for a brief moment, she felt those delicious little shocks all over her hand. Upon the loss of contact though, it soon faded, leaving her wondering.

His beautiful green eyes had gotten kind of dark. Maria could only wonder what was going on.

"You should go now." He told her in a husky voice.

She just nodded and headed straight to calculus.

She entered the classroom, gave the teacher that note, and then went straight to the back seat, right next to Kelly's.

A piece of paper landed on her desk a moment later, "10 min late! Drooling over the Fr teach?"

Maria rolled her eyes, but smiled nonetheless, and wrote back, "Getting detention already because of Sandra."

She heard her friend scribbling, and again that piece of paper came to her. "I wouldn't mind getting a detention with him at all!"

She almost laughed out loud at that. Kelly would be the girl to make a disaster look as an appealing occasion. Not that her detentions were a disaster, but still, on the 2nd day back to school, definitely not the best way to start the year.

She wrote back, "Actually, I'll have a whole week of detentions." She passed her the note as the teacher was giving them her back.

Kelly gasped, getting the teacher's attention, who said, "Anything wrong?"

Kelly muttered in a calm voice, "Nothing at all."

Misses Walker nodded, and continued writing. She was such a kind teacher.

'Maybe it's due to her having 2 children our age?' Maria mused for a moment before getting her wits together, and focusing on what the teacher was saying.

When the bell rung, and the two friends were heading to AP English –which they shared with Tyler as well– Kelly was so excited, she was almost jumping up and down.

She said, a smile splitting her face, "You are so lucky. I envy you, for real."

"Why is that?" Tyler asked, appearing at his girlfriend's side.

'Damn, I didn't see him coming.' Maria mused, startled.

She hit his arm playfully, and then said, "You can't do that!"

"What?" He smirked

"Scare the hell out of me," the brunette answered truthfully. "That is just ... unhealthy."

Kelly observed in a joking tone, "Unhealthy? That's all you could find?"

Maria just rolled her eyes at her friend, then said smiling, "Actually, yes."

********************************

At 3 pm, after Maria got changed for gym – as it was her last class, another class she shared with both Tyler and Kelly – she bumped into someone as she was walking backwards.

She almost fell to the side, but some hard strong hands sneaked around her waist, and pulled her up straight.

Her heart was having a moment. The kind of moment when you think it stopped for a second, then went in full-speed mode.

THAT, and her body was getting warm at the idea of being this close to him. Besides, she was having those tingles again.

'Oh man, what is wrong with me?' She asked herself, while dampening her lips.

"Are you alright?" Her oh-so-handsome French teacher asked in a murmur, next to her ear, close enough that she could feel his breath,

She nodded in response and put some space between them, not wanting to embarrass herself further more.

Dropping her gaze to the floor, sensing her face redden, she said apologetically, "I'm sorry. I wasn't looking and ..."

She trailed off as he interrupted her by saying gently, "It's okay. No harm done."

Maria raised her head and smiled at him, a true genuine smile, then went straight to the gym room with Kelly by her side.

When they were standing a little far from the crowd, she said in a dreaming tone, "I wish I was the one he held that way..."

Maria smiled at her, but said nothing.

Her friend continued talking, "I bet he is good." She drawled out the last word while wriggling her eyebrows.

Slightly out of it, Maria said really confused, "Huh?"

Her friend smiled, then said, "I mean good, as in good in bed, duh!"

Maria's lips parted and took the O form... Then, somehow, she managed to keep her friend's babbling out of her mind, and started fantasizing about her French teacher again.

A little bit later, that very sexy voice said from behind her, "Miss Jensen, would you mind stop zoning out?"

'Oh. I must be in a deep s**t. Here I am imagining his voice. Now that should be unhealthy, don't you think?' She mentally face-palmed in dismay.

She turned around, wanting to pay attention to what was going around, and was surprised to come face to face with Mr Donnovan. She looked at him, and said confused, "What are you doing here?"

Everybody started laughing their asses off.

'What the hell?' She thought, half-angry, half-perplexed.

He smiled, and then said in a light tone, "Well, if you had not been daydreaming, you would know that your gym teacher can't teach you for a couple of days, and I'm substituting him."

Again, there were giggles and chuckles everywhere, while Maria just stood there, blushing like crazy.

Could one die from embarrassment? She did not think it possible. Otherwise, she would be already dead.

Mr Donnovan just smiled at her. "Why don't you just join your friends and start running?"

Thank goodness, he was kind enough to not say anything else.

Maria jogged along with Kelly, and Tyler was soon by her other side, keeping himself back with them.

After 3 runs, the new coach told them to do some push-ups.

The time had passed by so quickly, Maria couldn't believe the bell was signaling the end of the day already. Wow!

She was talking to Kelly when, passing by them, Mr Donnovan said, "And don't come late to your detention too."

She nodded and bit her lip, while Kelly grinned. She knew her friend didn't like detentions. Who did?

"I could go instead of you," the bubbly blonde said jokingly, when he was out of earshot.

Maria laughed briefly, then said, half-seriously, half-jokingly, "I'm afraid he will notice the difference..."

Kelly hit her playfully on the arm and said, "It won't be that bad. Oh, come on!"

She ushered her to the changing room, saying how Sandra would be all excited if she were her.

Maria's heart started to flutter, thinking about how the detention could go like...

'Oh, no! I'm not going there. I have to absolutely stop fantasizing about my freaking teacher. I bet he has plenty of girls throwing themselves at his feet. I mean he is so good-looking that he can't be anything but a self-confessed player ... Yeah, I should probably think more of him like this, so that I can get him out of my mind. I really don't need to have a stupid crush on my teacher especially as I have a boyfriend.' She thought bitterly on her way to her detention.