Page 46 of Reluctant Chemistry

Luka looked up at Frank. “She mentioned some name-calling.”

“Unfortunately, it goes much further than that,” Carole offered, her voice soft with concern. “We caught two students defacing CeCe’s van with shaving cream the other day, and according to my sources, her locker’s been egged more than once. Not only that, one of our prefects heard a senior boy call her ‘teacher’s slut’ as she walked past. We slapped him with a week’s detention, but we can’t protect her twenty-four-seven, particularly on social media.”

The bile rose in Luka’s throat. He’d done this. Dropped CeCe in a heap of crap just because he couldn’t leave well enough alone. “This is bullshit. Why wasn’t I informed?”

“We’re informing you now,” Carole said. “And frankly, Luka, I’m not sure I trust you to keep your reaction in check.”

Luka held his tongue. She had a point. He wondered if the ‘teacher’s slut’ comment came courtesy of that idiot Travis Bostock. “Fair enough.”

“And might I suggest you think on this,” Frank said, “when it comes to the student-teacher relationship, doing the right thing is theonlything to do.”

Frank paused to catch his breath, then puffed out his chest—boiling point finally reached. “And let me make myself clear, stay away from CeCe, understand? She’s got enough to deal with without you grooming her.”

“That’s not how it is.”

“I wonder if the Teachers’ Association would see it that way.” Frank stood to leave. “Oh, and by the way, CeCe is no longer in your class, and if you see her around campus or anywhere else for that matter, you’d better look the other way. Get it?” Frank stormed out and slammed the door behind him before Luka could respond.

“Well,” Carole said, “what an unfortunate mess.”

Luka huffed out a sigh. “Yep. Seems I broke a cardinal rule before I even knew I’d broken it. I honestly had no idea CeCe was returning to school when we started seeing one another.”

Carole leaned back in her chair. “Look, CeCe Dobson’s a sweet kid, well-liked both on campus and around the town. You were never going to come out of this with a halo flashing over your head.”

“She’s over eighteen. I did nothing wrong, and now I’m being slapped with the bad-guy label.” He shook his head and muttered. “And all because of a freaking rabbit hole.”

“It’s not about her age, Luka. It’s about the ethical dilemma of a teacher sleeping with a student.”

The phone rang on Carole’s desk, interrupting his response. She held up her hand and took the call.

While he waited, Luka looked around her office. Files and papers filled the shelves to bursting point, and on her desk, a cup, half full of tea, sat in a chipped saucer. The place was a mess. Offices like this reminded him of why he found teaching untenable. The paperwork and red tape drove him nuts, and for schools like Tulloch Point High, funding was always an issue.

He wanted to walk out. Go surfing. Get drunk. But as he waited for Carole to end the call, he knew he needed to tone down the attitude.

She returned the receiver to its base and sighed.“You do realize that you could lose your teaching certificate? And you don’t want that hanging over your head, even when you’re set on pursuing other career paths.”

Luka knew Carole was right. While teaching would never be a lifelong vocation, he needed to keep his options open, especially if he wanted to travel.

“I accept that you did the right thing when you found out CeCe was returning to school, but your downfall was going back for more.”

Luka scrubbed his hands up and down his face. “Who laid the first complaint?”

“It was more a comment spoken out of turn in the locker room. My son was there when it happened, and he brought it to my attention.”

“And Travis Bostock was the instigator?”

“Look, Travis and CeCe were sweethearts for over a year. The boy has an ego the size of Australia, and unfortunately, his insight is sadly lacking, but that doesn’t mean their breakup didn’t affect him.”

Luka leaned back in his chair and pinched the bridge of his nose.Sweethearts.He hated that word. There was nothing sweet about Travis Bostock. He doubted the kid even had a heart.

“Anyway, while I’d like to keep this in-house, the board might well have other ideas. CeCe’s a complex kid who’s had a challenging time lately. So I’m asking you, please don’t add to those complexities.”

Puzzled, Luka mulled over Carole’s words. “Okay, you’re going to have to fill me in here. What do you mean by ‘challenging time’?”

“Her best friend, Anna, died in her sleep, July last year. The girls had been inseparable until some jerk Anna took up with came between them. Didn’t she tell you?”

Anna?“No, she didn’t.”

“CeCe took Anna’s death hard and ended up dropping out. We tried to work with her online, but she struggled to commit. Such a shame. She was one of the most promising tennis players we’ve ever had at the school, but she gave that up too. Her parents are good people, but as you saw, Frank tends to overreact at the first sign of trouble, and in this case, rightly so. Although she seems more stable now, we still need to keep an eye on her.”