Midterms II & III

He watched Cheryl's little round butt bounce up and down as she left his classroom. The tight jeans and high heeled sandals she wore accentuated her movement. Heisenberg was unconsciously aware that he had taken the first step towards selling his soul. His colleague and mentor Maxine Planck had been in the back of the room grading papers, an unobtrusive witness if needed, he had told her of Cheryl's proposition the evening before.

The previous evening Heisenberg had told his wife that he had again been approached by a student of his.

"Hmmnn" she had responded. "Did you tell anyone?"

"No, I was the last one in the building; I'll talk to Planck in the morning." Planck was more than a colleague and mentor, over the years she and her husband had become good friends despite the 20 year age difference. She had been instrumental in Heisenberg's acquiring this position teaching in the coastal community. The irony of Planck and Heisenberg working together was lost on everyone but the two of them. It had become their shared joke.

Heisenberg was already in bed when his wife came into their room; as usual she stripped in the closet and emerged in the white flannel nightgown with little pink roses he had grown to despise. He felt like the flannel, soft and worn, bland, his life covered by worn dull fabric. She got into bed and turned her back to him. He moved close behind her and put an arm over her, managing to slip his hand beneath the flannel and cup her warm breast in his palm.

He had softly run his thumb over her nipple, this had elicited two simultaneous responses, her nipple had immediately hardened and she had said "I already said not tonight, I'm tired please don't" Her icy tone, in sharp contrast to the warm breast he longed to kiss, lick, and suck, convinced him that again there was no hope of intimacy.

Heisenberg immediately rolled away, got up and went to spend the remainder of the night grading the never ending stack of papers that went with his calling. With each hour he felt part of himself wither. Exhausted, he had eventually fallen into a disturbed, restless sleep, darkness creeping in.

Heisenberg and Cheryl had arrived at an academic plan to improve her grade as he had intended. What he had not intended was agreeing to meet Cheryl for lunch the following Saturday.

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