Date: Thu, 25 Jul 2013 17:34:29 -0400 From: numlfl C Subject: Bridget's Awakening This story is the property of the author. You may keep a copy on your computer for personal enjoyment, however if you wish to publish or distribute the story then you must get the permission of the author. Bridget's Awakening Bridget pulled into the school's parking lot and turned off the engine. She sat there for a moment looking at the old building that housed the private school that she was about to start her teaching career. She opened her purse looking for her cigarettes before remembering that she had quit two weeks ago. She so wanted and needed one at that moment to calm her nerves. Her mind went back to when she had flown from her home in South Boston for her interview with the principal of the school. She had been looking for a teaching job all of the spring semester of her senior year of college and then through the summer. She was about to give up and find a job at some fast food place to pay off her college loans when Ms. Powers called her. She didn't even remember applying to this private school located about an hour's drive north of San Francisco. She had to borrow money from her oldest sister to get here as her mother didn't want her baby girl to move so far away from her. She wasn't so sure that she wanted to live in California either but something told her to come and see what it was all about. She had done her research on the school before flying out for the interview. It was located on and run by a small private college which was conservative in its teaching, something she was surprised to learn since it was located in California and so close to San Francisco. She had thought that everyone that lived there was very liberal which wasn't the way she was raised. She came from a very strict Catholic family and was raised that way. There was a very rich donor to the college who seemed to direct everything and funded everything that went on at the college and thus the grade and high school that was located in the building that she was currently looking up at. The principle of the school Ms. Powers had met her at the airport and driven her to the school. Ms. Powers was a tall stout woman with short gray hair. Bridget figured her to be in her mid sixties and she found that she was actually sixty-one on the ride to the school. Ms. Powers mostly told her about her own teaching career as she drove them. She had taught in the public schools in Maine for thirty years before having to take an early retirement when the county's budget got cut. Then about five years ago, she was asked to come out to run this school and she figured that the change would do her good. Bridget liked this woman but she got the impression that Ms. Powers ran the school her way no matter what the schools and college's benefactor said so she knew that if she took the job, she would have to follow Ms. Powers rules but then she didn't think that would be a problem. Ms. Powers started with a tour of the school, which was the start of the official interview. However Bridget had gotten the correct impression that her interview had started as soon as Ms. Powers introduced herself at the airport. She started the tour on the first floor where the kindergarten through the fourth grade was located. The building was old but Bridget was impressed at how it had been modernized. All the classrooms had computers and all the other things that a brand new school would have. She met the teachers who were getting their classrooms ready for school to start in a short two weeks. They next went to the second floor where grades fifth through eighth were located. Again the classrooms were modern and the teachers were nice. It was here that she met the science teacher for the seventh and eighth graders. Ms. Powers told her when she introduced her to Ivy that Ivy had been there for three years, having come straight from college thus Bridget found out that Ivy was only three years older than she. Ivy was slightly taller than her own five-eight and she had short brownish blond hair that was cut so that it barely covered her neck. She had her hair casually tucked behind her ears and parted on the top right side. Ivy's body also was like her, not exactly slim but not by any means fat either. She had a nice rounded body that carried her few extra pounds well. Her hips were slightly larger than her own hips however it was Ivy's C cupped breasts that drew Bridget's attention and without realizing it, she actually let the tip of her tongue move across her lips. She saw that Ivy smiling at her while Ivy talked about the school which Bridget didn't catch all of what she was saying. Bridget thought that she was very attractive which caused her some discomfort and left her with feelings that she rather not have. Ms. Powers only allowed her to talk to Ivy for a few minutes before continuing the tour. The high school portion of the school was located on the top two floors of the building. It would be here that she would teach all the math related classes should she be offered and she accepted the teaching position. Again Ms. Powers introduced her to the other teachers, a mix of older and younger teachers, however Ms. Powers spent most the time there showing off the math classroom. Bridget was more than a little impressed by what she would have to work with. Instead of a chalk board that some of the classrooms that she did her student teaching in, this had a large screen TV hooked up to a new laptop that she could use to teach her students. It would be something to get used to but she was excited by the idea. If Ms. Powers was trying impress her, she was doing a great job at it. Ms. Powers finally ended the tour, taking her down to her office. Ms Powers' office wasn't anything fancy; it had a few straight back chairs for guests to sit and a large imposing desk with a nice chair. Bridget figured the office was set up that way to put a bit of fear into any students who found themselves there for something other than good behavior. There was also an old wooden paddle hanging on the wall behind Ms. Powers' desk that she was sure she had put there for a purpose. She doubted that it had ever been used but the students didn't know that. She had to give Ms. Powers credit for the way she had her office set up. Ms. Powers went right for the coffee pot pouring two cups of coffee for them to drink. Though she wasn't a big coffee drinker, she accepted it all the same. She would have at least have had some cream and sugar to put in it but Bridget noticed that neither was sitting on the small table holding the coffee maker. Ms. Bridget obviously drank her coffee black and thus so did anyone who drank any with her. "So what do you think of our school?" Ms Powers asked after sitting down in her big executive chair behind her desk. "I love it, it has everything that a teacher could ask for and everyone seems so nice." Bridget told her honestly. "They are, we do have a great staff, I was very careful in who I chose to teach here. The old bastard that supports this university and also our little school gave me free reign as to whom I wanted to teach here and I take full advantage of him." Ms. Powers told her and as she said that last sentence, Bridget could also see a bit of a devious grin come to Ms. Powers face. "Well I think I would like to teach here," Bridget told her feeling nervous about saying that but she did feel that way. "You wouldn't mind moving so far away from your home?" Ms. Powers asked critically. "From what I can see, you've never been far from home; you even went to college close by." "I know, my mom didn't want me to go too far away," Bridget said feeling foolish saying that but it was the truth. "How would your mother feel about you moving across the country to teach here?" Ms. Powers asked. "She would be pissed at me," Bridget said with a little laugh. "I see," Ms. Powers said with a bit of a frown, "Pissed enough to keep you from taking the job?" Bridget had to think for a moment because she was wondering if Ms. Powers was asking her what she thought she was asking, "Are you offering me the job?" "I might be, but I want to hear your answer first. I don't want to have to replace you two weeks into the school year because you got homesick for your mamma," Ms Powers stated straight faced. The comment sort of pissed Bridget off, "If you hire me, you'll have to fire me to get rid of me." Bridget said forcefully as she looked Ms. Powers in the eye and she didn't look away thought her stomach was churning and she felt like running from the office. "That's what I wanted to hear," Ms. Powers said to her finally smiling but then her face turned serious again. "The first day of classes is in two weeks that should give you enough time to move out here and find a place to live. There's an apartment complex near here that a lot of the teachers live in, I'm sure that you can find an apartment there that you can afford. And I would like to have you here before school actually starts so that you can get your classroom in order." "Thank you Ms Powers, I appreciate you giving me this chance, I won't disappoint you." Bridget said standing up and holding out her hand to Ms. Powers who shook it with a firm grip. "I don't expect you to disappoint me," Ms Powers said before releasing her hand. "I won't," Bridget said happily but she also felt the beginnings of butterflies in her stomach as she realized that she would be moving far from her home to start her teaching career. The moving far from home didn't bother her as much as her fear of failing as a teacher. Then a question came to Bridget's mind and she asked it before she could stop herself, "Was there many applications for this job?" She so wanted to take the question back but it was too late now. "Why do you ask?" Ms. Powers asked in return with her face not indicating anything as to how much Bridget had hurt her chances of keeping the job that she had just gotten. "Just curious as to why you would choose me, someone who had never taught before and someone from way back east with a definite Boston accent, I'm sure that there were many teachers from this area who you could choose from." Bridget told her. Ms. Powers then let out a smile, that same curious smile that she had let out before, "Actually there were hundreds of applications that I had to chose from." She told her. "Then may I ask why me?" Bridget asked, "It's not that I'm not grateful because I am but I have been on a lot of interviews, some I had to go back and re- interview and I didn't get the job. Why did you choose me after such a short interview?" "Because I did my research and your professors said that you'd make a great teacher one day and the teachers that you did your student teaching with loved you." Ms. Powers told her and then she paused for a moment and with a slight smile she added. "And I think that there's something special about you that will fit in nicely here at our school." "Oh okay," Bridget said wondering just what the special thing about her that Ms. Powers was talking about but she knew better than ask any more questions. Ms. Powers could always change her mind and she didn't want that to happen. "Any more questions?" Ms. Powers asked with that ever present frown returning to her face. "No, I'm good." Bridget said to her. "Well when are you flying back out?" Ms. Power's asked. "Tomorrow morning," Bridget told her. "Well how about me taking you to that apartment complex and see if we can find you an apartment to live in." Ms Powers stated. Bridget felt like it was more of an order than an offer but she would need a place to live and she didn't have much time to find one. "Sure that sounds great." "Okay let's get going," Ms. Powers stated as she stood up. "Oh let me give you a packet of rules and regulations that our benefactor insists that we follow." "Thank you, I'll read them over tonight," Bridget said taking the large, thick packet of papers. Ms. Powers took Bridget back out to her car, telling her more about the school that she would soon be teaching at. While the small private university had been around for years, the school was only about ten years old. Once the benefactor for the university had entrench himself with the university making it very conservative in a liberal state, he decided that what the community needed was a school that would get to the younger kids before they got to liberalized by their parents. When the first principal retired, the benefactor went looking for another one that saw things as he did. Ms. Powers then flashed a rare smile as she told about needing a change in her life so she talked her way into the job. Bridget knew that there was something about Ms. Powers that made her wary of her but there was also something that made Bridget like her. The apartment complex was about thirty minutes from the school. It was eight stories high with the larger apartments on the higher floors and the smaller and thus cheaper ones on the lower two levels. With the student loans that Bridget had to pay off, she didn't bother looking at the larger and more expensive apartments. She just wanted something small that she could afford and she told Ms. Powers that. So Ms. Powers directed Bridget to one of the studio apartment located on the second floor. It came furnished with a double bed, sofa, small kitchen table, with a small stove and refrigerator all in one room with a small bathroom attached. It was a little small but Bridget had just spent the last four years living in a dorm room so compared to that, this place was huge. Bridget loved the place as soon as she saw it and the bathroom had an old tub and shower combination so that she would be able to take baths again, something that she loved to do. "I love it but how much is the down payment and the rent?" Bridget asked Ms. Powers. "Don't worry about that, this placed is owned by the tenants and run by a board. I think that we can work something out with them." Ms Powers told her giving her another one of her rare smiles. "I appreciate that but I really need to know what I'm committing myself to before I actually commit," Bridget told her. "Mmmm, I respect that, let me make some calls and I'll bring over a lease agreement in the morning, in the meantime, you can stay here tonight to see if you like it. There is no commitment, how about that?" Ms. Powers told her. "I think I can live with that," Bridget said knowing that if the price was anywhere close to being affordable, she was going to take it. They then went down to Ms. Powers' car to get Bridget's bag before Ms. Powers took on off leaving Bridget with the key to the apartment. After Ms. Powers had left, Bridget realized that she had no way to return the key and she figured that Ms. Powers already knew that she would take the apartment. She went back to the apartment, checking things out until she could call her oldest sister Mary to tell her how things went. Mary was excited for her and promised to help her out and also get the rest of their siblings to pitch in. They both knew that their mom would be against the move and would not help. Later that afternoon, Ms. Powers sent her an email telling her how much the apartment would cost her and it was more than reasonable, in fact it was very cheap. Ms. Powers also said that she would arrange to have the utilities changed over to her name so she wouldn't have to worry about that. That night she read over the papers that Ms. Powers gave to her and some surprised her, especially the part that stated that evolution could only be taught as a theory and also creationism had to be taught too. This Bridget thought was silly but it was something her mom would agree with. But since she taught math then she didn't have to worry about that. But there was one thing that did catch her attention and that was something she was doing right at that moment which was smoking which wasn't allowed. But then she had picked up smoking as a way of revolting against her overbearing mother who still didn't know she smoked. But Bridget knew she needed to quit so this was a good reason to do so. The week she spent at home was as bad as she thought it would be with her mom making her go with her to church and confession everyday that she was there. Bridget couldn't wait to get out of there and after borrowing money from all of her brothers and sisters she was able to get her old car fixed up and still have enough over to get started with her new life in California. She got her brain back to the present before picking up her purse and heading into her new school and her new career. She felt the butterflies in her stomach and she hoped that her new students wouldn't be too hard on her. She knew her stuff but she also knew that all students would test her with her being new and so young. But she hoped that being young would also work in her favor. Ms. Powers was standing out front greeting the students as they entered the building for the new school year. She had that frown on her face as she seemed to always had, at least, as far as when Bridget had been with her, however she did greet each of the kids by name. While the school was small there were still over four hundred kids to greet so Bridget was impressed that Ms. Powers could remember all their names. Bridget did notice that when she greeted the younger ones, she did so with a smile but the frown came out with the older ones to keep them in line. Ms. Powers did break out a smile for Bridget and that calmed her nerves a bit. Bridget when straight up to her classroom, putting her purse into her desk and then opening up the laptop on her desk and getting it set up. She had a few minutes to get more nervous as she waited for her first class to start. Slowly her students started to trickle in. She pretended to work but she kept an eye on her students. They mostly came into the room in pairs talking away. She saw that while they tried not to pay any attention to her, she did see them glance her way, trying to measure her up as she measured them. The class was a freshmen math class, mainly for students that had trouble with math. She noticed that there were more females in the class than males and that bothered her. Soon enough the bell rung and the class kept talking ignoring the bell and her. Bridget took in a deep breath before standing up and walking to the front of her desk. The students kept talking, ignoring her and Bridget knew that it was her first test but she was ready. One of the teachers that she had done her student teaching under had told her that she had to get her student's attention right off but then she had to keep it. So she let them talk for a moment more letting them think that they were succeeding, she even tepidly cleared her voice which had no effect as she knew it wouldn't. After a couple o minutes she reached into her pocket of her dress slowly pulling out a small air horn. No one noticed it, that is, until she gave a short burst. That got her student's attention as well as several screams. "Now that I got your attention, I'm Ms. Dail and this is freshman math. I plan on making this class fun and by the end of the semester; I'll be able to show the importance of math is in your life and how much fun math can be." Bridget said to them with a smile on her face. "Fat chance of that," a blue haired girl on the right side of her classroom said very sarcastically. Bridget didn't let that remark get to her; instead she walked over to the girl while holding onto the little air horn. She saw the girl lean back in her seat fearful that Bridget was going to let go with another blast of the air horn. "What's your name?" Bridget asked of her. The blue haired girl eyed Bridget and then the air horn before saying, "Becky Wilson." "I'll tell you what, if at the end of the semester, you still feel like math is unimportant and no fun, then I'll let you color my hair blue, just like yours." Bridget told her straight faced. "Seriously?" Becky asked while a bit of a devious smile came to her young face. "Seriously," Bridget told her and then she heard a "Cool" come from male voice from the other side of the room. "This will be fun," Becky said talking about the idea of getting to color the new teacher's hair blue and not the math class but Bridget understood that. "But I do have one condition," Bridget told her. "That figures," Becky said with a frown. "Don't worry, it's not much of a condition," Bridget told her, "All I ask is an honest effort on your part, give me a chance to prove myself. That's not much to ask is it?" Becky hesitated as she thought it over before she said, "Okay." "Good," Bridget said holding out her hand to Becky who hesitated another second before taking it and giving it a good shake. Bridget felt good about her start; she had their attention and also got them curious about her. She started to walk back to the front of the class when Becky asked, "And what happens if you're right not that you will be?" Bridget turned back around and gave Becky a big smile as she said, "I get to color your hair." "What color?" Becky asked and Bridget knew Becky expected her to say something boring. "Mmmm..." Bridget said as she paused for a moment making Becky worry, "What do you think class? What color should I color it?" this, she hoped would bring the rest of the class onto her side. There was some hesitation in the class before someone shouted out Blond which got boos and a bit of laughter. Then all types of colors came from her student's mouths, even a few from Becky. The class finally settled on hot pink which Becky frowned upon hearing but she agreed. Bridget then got the class started by call roll and she tried to place a face with each name. She did get lots of moans when she said that she was going to start the class with a pop quiz. But then she assured them that it was only for her to determine what each one of them knew and didn't know. That didn't help much but she got them to take the quiz. Once they were finished, she went back to the front of her desk, where she started her class not by teaching them any math but asking them where they might use math when they got out of school. No one really said anything so she began to go around the room asking her students what they planned on doing and she gave them a few examples where they would need to know math. Soon she had the class interested and they were telling her what they wanted to do and she got them to think of how they would have to use math. When the class ended, she felt like she had a start on winning them over, even blue haired Becky had joined in. "You know, you're going to look great with blue hair," Becky said to her as she passed by Bridget's desk though she didn't say it sarcastically. "And you'll look even better with hot pink," Bridget told her and that got a smile from Becky. Bridget then knew she had won round one with Becky but there was a long way to go yet. She still might end up with blue hair by Christmas. Her next class was an advanced math class with all seniors in her class. These students were smart and challenged her in a different way. They were eager to learn either because they loved math or knew they would need it for college. However she did have to use her air horn to get their attention away from their phones and friends to get the class started. The rest of her day kept her going, even her lunch period was spent looking over the pop quizzes she had given and getting ready for her next class. She quickly saw that she had her work cut out for her in first period class. But that just made her more determined to teach them what they needed to know. And Becky, she saw, needed a lot of help. But she wanted to get through to this girl and she would or die trying. After the last class ended, she let out a big sigh as she realized just how taxing the day had been. She felt drained and she wanted to get home and try to relax. She wanted a bath in the worst way but what she wanted most was a cigarette. She knew that she shouldn't but at that moment, she felt like she could eat one. She got her purse and started out of her classroom only to see Ms. Powers walk into her room. She was the last person that she wanted to see but Ms. Powers was her boss and if the boss wanted to talk then what could she do. So she was forced to talk to her for another twenty minutes. Ms Powers brought up the air horn and Bridget figured that she would be mad at her but she wasn't. She liked the idea of getting the students attention, especially her first class whose worse subject was math. Bridget was happy to hear that Ms. Powers wasn't mad and after her second class, she didn't have to use it as it had obviously gotten around and each class there after kept an eye on her hands as soon as they entered the classroom. She did eventually make her way out of the classroom and the school, going straight to her car to go home. She got started down the highway thinking about her first day as a teacher. She had been tense and nervous all day and though her day had ended well, the tension and nervousness was still there. She had only gone a couple of miles down the highway when she spotted a gas station ahead and she remembered that it also had a little store. Her mind was telling her to press down on the gas pedal and speed on past it but another part of her brain sent a signal down to her right leg forcing it to ease up on the gas and then she turned on the left side hand signal. She pulled in, going to the far side of the store. She was already feeling guilty for what she was about to do, but she so needed that cigarette, even going to the point of convincing herself that after a successful first day, she deserved a reward. She told herself that she would smoke one and then throw the rest of the pack away. She looked around and not seeing anyone that she recognized, she got out of her car hurrying into the store. She went straight to the counter and asked for her brand of cigarettes. She smoked an off brand of menthol cigarettes. She was a bit surprised that they had her brand, though it did cost a lot more than they did back east. She paid for the cigarettes and hurried back to her car. She looked at the cigarette pack for a second before she let out a sigh and she gave into her need. She opened the pack and got into her purse for her lighter which she still carried. She put the cigarette into her mouth and lit it. She sucked the smoke and she immediately found herself relaxing as the nicotine did its work. She put her head back against her seat and closed her eyes as she took another hit off of her cigarette. She had only inhaled a couple of times on her cigarette when she heard a feminine voice coming in from right outside her window, "You know if Ms. Powers finds out that you smoke, she'll fire you." "What?" Bridget said opening her eyes and about dropped her lit cigarette into her lap. She looked out her window to see Ivy, the science teacher for the seventh and eighth grades looking back at her. She could only see her head and neck, as Ivy was obviously squatting down beside her small car. She at first thought that Ivy was messing with her but then she saw that she had a serious look on her face. "I said that Ms. Powers will fire you if she catches you smoking, you know that's against the rule for teachers," Ivy told her in all seriousness. "Are you going to tell on me?" Bridget asked now really needing a puff on her cigarette but fearful to do so not that it would matter, she was already caught. She couldn't believe that she was going to be fired on her second day of her teaching career by something that she had first thought was nice but obviously wasn't. "Well that depends..." Ivy told her. "Depends on what?" Bridget asked suspiciously. "On if you'll have dinner with me tonight," Ivy told her without a smile or a hint that she was messing with her. Bridget couldn't believe that Ivy was blackmailing her into dinner and she just wondered why Ivy wanted to have dinner with her. All types of things went through her head as she tried to figure just what Ivy was up to. She knew her face showed her confusion as she tried to figure this woman out. "Tell you what, while you're thinking, why don't you give me a light," Ivy said as she brought a cigarette to her lips that Bridget saw was like her own cigarette. "Got ya!" Ivy said then broke into a horse laugh as she grinned at Bridget whose jaw was still in her lap. "Hey open your door and let me get in so we both don't get fired by Ms. Powers tomorrow." She said as she stood up and went to the passenger side of the car. Bridget started not to let her in but she hit the button that unlocked the door for Ivy who slid into the seat. Bridget looked at Ivy and got a little pissed at her joke so she hit her on the shoulder. "Ouch! That hurt!" Ivy said rubbing her arm but she still had a shit eating grin on her face. "It was meant to; you scared the shit out of me!" Bridget said seriously, "I thought that you were serious and I was going to be fired." "I'm sorry but the temptation was just too great. I saw you there all relaxed enjoying that cigarette so much. I just couldn't resist." Ivy said as her face turned a bit more serious. "You're not forgiven," Bridget told her as she threw the last of cigarette out the window and brushed the ashes off her dress. She then pulled another from her pack and lit it as she really needed one now. She looked over at a contrite Ivy who gave her a soft smile so she leaned over and lit her cigarette. She watched as Ivy inhaled deeply and then blew out the smoke and she knew that Ivy did smoke and had smoked for a while. "You know I was serious about having dinner with me tonight." Ivy told her. "Why do you want to have dinner with me?" Bridget asked. "To welcome you to the school and to our apartment building," Ivy told her. "You live there too?" Bridget asked. "Yeah, on the third floor, I got a one bedroom apartment." Ivy said with a smile. "That's cool, you like it there?" Bridget asked of her. "I love it, it's a great place to live," Ivy told her with a smile. "I think so too, I love my little apartment," Bridget said smiling as she really did. "So you coming to dinner?" Ivy asked. "Ah... sure, I'd love to. What time?" Bridget asked wondering why she was accepting Ivy's dinner invite after she had scared the shit out of her. "How about six, that'll give me time to fix something," Ivy said as she started to get out. "Okay do I need to bring anything?" Bridget asked just before Ivy went to close her door. "Just yourself," Ivy said with a smile and then she shut the door. But then she immediately opened it back up, "Oh and I invited you because I think you're cute." She then gave her a smile and a wink before closing the door and getting into her own car that was parked beside of Bridget's car. Bridget had no time to respond to Ivy and she wasn't sure that she knew what to say. However she felt her body respond to the comment as she found herself smiling and she felt a tingle down below. She watched Ivy pulled out and returned the wave that Ivy gave to her. But then she began to feel that familiar guilt arise in her heart. She was again feeling something that she knew she shouldn't feel but it was getting harder and harder for her to deny those feelings. Bridget lit another cigarette before starting her car and heading on home. Once there, she ran herself a hot bath and slipped into the tub. She felt the warm water relaxing her along with her forth cigarette though she had planned on smoking one and throwing the pack away. But then again, she knew once she bought the pack, she'd smoke it all. Then she'd have to stop all over again. She closed her eyes and thought about her first day of teaching but Ivy kept coming into her thoughts and the comment that she made about her being cute. That did bring a smile to her face that someone like Ivy thought she was cute but it also brought along those familiar guilt feelings. She hated feeling that way but she had no more control over the guilt feelings than she did over what made her have those feelings. She soaked for about an hour in the tub, having to add more hot water from time to time to keep the water warm. But eventually she forced herself out, but not before sitting up on the edge to shave her legs and armpits. She really didn't need to shave but for some reason, she did so anyway. She applied some lotion on her body before putting on a robe. Then she began to blow dry her curly brown hair. She tried to do something with it but she was born with hair that had much too much body. That is why she kept it relatively short, letting it fall down just covering her neck. But then with her hair, she didn't have to invest in curling irons or anything like that. There was a time when the youngest of her three older sisters and her tried to straighten it. They worked for two hours and finally got it straight only to find that all their effort lasted no more than the time it took to get it straight. After that she gave up and accepted that she had hair that was determined to be curly. She put on a little make up before heading out of her bathroom to find something to wear. Even though her small studio apartment had no real bedroom it did have a long closet in which to put her clothes. She was the youngest of eight kids and her mother had always made her wear dresses or skirts. She was rarely seen dressed in shorts or jeans that her older sisters got to wear. But then they fought hard with her mother to get to wear them and Bridget tended to just go along with what her mother wanted. So now she was just more comfortable wearing dresses and that is what she wore most of the time. So when she went to the closet, she naturally picked out a dress but it was a casual one, one with a floral pattern that went down to her knees. It was loose fitting as she never wore anything form fitting, she had never been able to lose her baby fat so she had a slight belly and with her B cup breast, she really didn't have a model's body that she could show off with form fitting clothes. Once she was dressed, she realized that she had no clue as to which apartment that Ivy lived in. She knew she couldn't just knock on every door on the third floor. Then she remembered that in the packet that Ms. Powers had given to her, it had a listing of all the teachers in the school and their addresses and phone numbers. So she went to the small desk that came with the apartment where the packet was. She shuffled through the papers until she found what she was looking for and she looked Ivy up. From her own address, she knew that the number before the street address was the apartment number so she knew just which apartment to go to. She looked at her watch and saw that it was only five thirty but then she hated to be late and besides she was curious as to what Ivy's apartment looked like. She was also getting anxious to see Ivy again; the comment about her being cute had gotten to her in both a good and bad way. So she grabbed her keys and went out the door. When she got to Ivy's door, she started to reach out and knock but then she jerked her hand back, like if she touched the door, something would happen and she needed to get as far away from that door as possible. But then she knew it wasn't the door that might change her life but who was behind that door. She turned and started to go back to her apartment. There she would call Ivy and tell her that she was feeling a little ill and had to cancel out of their dinner. She only got a few feet away before stopping. She turned and looked back at the innocent looking door. She bit her lower lip as she turned back and went to the door, knocking on it before she could change her mind. It was only a moment later that she heard "Coming" from inside the door and Bridget knew it was too late to turn back now. But then she figured that she was blowing everything out of proportion as she tended to do sometimes. A moment later, the door opened and Ivy appeared dressed in a pair of loose fitting sweat shorts and a long tee shirt. "You're early" Ivy said thought she was smiling. "I'm sorry, I can come back in a few minutes," Bridget said frowning, knowing that she had screwed up. "Oh hell no, you can help me fix our six course meal that I'm preparing." Ivy said with a grin as she reached out grabbing Bridget's right wrist and pulling her into the apartment. "You're preparing a six course meal?" Bridget asked not believing Ivy but then again... with Ivy she couldn't tell. Ivy let out a deep hearty laugh, "No, I'm making spaghetti with homemade meat sauce, and garlic bread. That's about the only thing I actually know how to cook well." "Oh, I was wondering..." Bridget told her. "Come on into the kitchen, you can make the salad as I work on the sauce." Ivy told her pulling her on toward the kitchen. Bridget was able to glance around Ivy's apartment. She noted that it was larger than her own, not a lot larger but larger. She also noted that the furniture looked similar to her own, nothing new but that just made the apartment look like a home. She also saw that there wasn't any dust on the tables and the windows were spotless. That made Ivy like herself in needing to keep things clean. "I heard about your air horn trick," Ivy said with a grin as she showed Bridget where the bowl for the salad was. "I think everyone heard that," Bridget said with a laugh. "I just wanted to get their attention." "You got everyone's attention with that one," Ivy told her laughing. "Was it the wrong thing to do, Ms. Powers didn't think it was," Bridget told her trying to defend her action. "No I think it was perfect, you're the new teacher, they were going to test you; you just beat them to the punch. I admire your creativity. I'd do it myself if I didn't think about half my students would piss their pants and I'd be left to clean up the mess." Ivy said laughing again. "One of the teachers that is did my student teaching under had told me that my students would test me whether they be the first graders or they be in high school. I tried to think of some way to get their attention." Bridget told her. "Like I said, I think it was great," Ivy said and then she turned away from the stove, looking back at Bridget, "I also like what you did with Becky, though you know that if you fail, you'll have to go through with your wager." "How did you hear about that?" Bridget asked. "Honey, it's a small school and nothing goes on that doesn't get around fast." Ivy told her with a smile. "I see that now," Bridget told her noting that this was something that she'd have to remember from now on. "But anyway, when I told the class that I was going to show them that math can be fun, she said "Fat chance of that" so I knew that I had to do something or I would be fighting her the whole semester." "So do you think you can make it fun for her, she is a bit stubborn but she's smarter than she thinks that she is." Ivy told her. "I don't know but I got to try, I don't want to have her color my hair blue." Bridget told her. Then without realizing it, Bridget went on about how people and especially girls thought math was hard and they couldn't do it but they could. And it could be fun if they would let it. Bridget got on a roll talking about her fourth grade teacher that had took the time to show her that she could do math and she grew to love it. She loved solving problems and figuring things out. She wanted to bring that enthusiasm to her students. She never noticed that Ivy was smiling at her the whole time that she talked all the way through their dinner. After dinner, Ivy took her out to her small balcony to smoke a cigarette. Bridget had left her pack in her apartment not wanting to smoke too many so she borrowed one from Ivy for which she was thankful that Ivy smoked menthols too. They both grew quiet as they enjoyed their cigarettes. It was a bit hot outside and Bridget began to perspire so once they both had finished their cigarettes, she was glad to get back inside to the air conditioning. Ivy went and got them a glass of wine to sip on as they talked while Bridget went to the restroom, which she found to be about identical to her own bathroom. They met back in the living room, sitting on the couch. "I told you how I came to want to be a teacher so how did decide that is what you wanted to do?" Bridget asked before taking a sip of her wine. "You want the long version or the short one?" Ivy asked her. "It's early, let's go for the long version," Bridget said with a smile. "Well I didn't know at an early age that a teacher was what I wanted to be, in fact by the time I got to high school I hated school and about everything else in my life." Ivy told her. "But why?" Bridget asked, not believing that Ivy who seemed to love to laugh would be like that. "Well my father died of cancer the summer before I entered the eighth grade," Ivy said and Bridget saw a bit of sadness in Ivy's eyes. "Oh I'm sorry, I can't imagine losing my father at that age; it must have been hard on you." Bridget said reaching over and giving Ivy's forearm a squeeze. "It was, there was just my mother and I and even though we had health insurance, we ended up way in debt with my father's illiness. My mother had to go back to work and the only job she could find was at a chicken processing company. It was hard work and she had to work long hours so I felt like I had lost both of my parents. I didn't get to see my mother much and when I did, we tended to argue. So by the time I got to high school, I had fallen into a rough crowd. I began to smoke pot and stay out late. Needless to say my grades went down and that just gave my mom and me more to argue about." Ivy said as she paused for a moment to take a sip of her wine and Bridget saw that she was remembering that time in her life and it wasn't a happy thought. "I'm so sorry, I thought that my childhood was rough but it was almost perfect compared to yours... but something obviously changed or you wouldn't be here?" Bridget said and asked. "Yea a nosey busy body that couldn't resist putting her nose where it didn't belong," Ivy said with a smile. "So what did this nosey busy body do?" Bridget asked getting into Ivy's story. "I'm getting there," Ivy cautioned her thought she did so with a smile. "Sorry," Bridget said returning the smile. "Somehow I made it through my freshman year passing my subjects with C's and a couple of D's, a big difference from the A's and B's I got in grade school. I also managed not to get arrested though I did do some things that I could have been arrested for. And my mother managed not to kill me though I know she wanted to. We were to the point of not talking by this time, since when we did it just led to an argument. By November, I was flunking all my classes and skipping school on a regular basis. That was when Ms. Peterson, the nosey busybody I mentioned earlier came into the picture." Ivy said with a grin. "Good for Ms. Peterson, what did she do?" Bridget asked and she got a frown from Ivy. "Sorry," Bridget said with a giggle that made Ivy smile. "It's okay," Ivy said with a laugh. "You know I'm from Minnesota don't you?" "From your accent, I figured that you were from somewhere in that area." Bridget told her. "That's also important to my story," Ivy told her. "So anyway, one cold snowy November day that I showed up for school and actually stayed the whole day, with Ms. Peterson's being my last class. She asked me to stay over after class and I started to tell her to fuck off but for some reason I didn't. I'm not sure why I did stay, maybe it was that it was a cold day and I didn't have anywhere to be. She came over to my desk and sat down in the desk beside of mine. She then began to tell me that she had been checking up on me and found out that I was actually very smart, a lot smarter than I was acting. All my test scores were in the upper percentile but I was throwing my life away. Of course my response to her was "So what." She was silent for a moment and I felt her studying me which unnerved me. I started to get up and leave when she told me that she was going to hold a mirror to my face." Ivy told her and this time Bridget didn't say anything. She just waited for Ivy to continue. "Now normally being a tough girl that I thought I was, I would have told Ms. Peterson to "Fuck off", however Ms. Peterson was a big woman and I don't mean that she was fat, she was tall and solidly built. She also had a commanding voice when she needed for it to be. She got up and told me that she was going to take me on a little ride. I followed along; I think I was afraid to do anything else." Ivy said with a laugh. "We went out to her car, an old Ford Bronco, and we began our journey. Neither of us talked as she went through the small town we lived in and then out to the interstate. We were on the road for over an hour before she pulled off the interstate. It was another ten minutes before a large building started to come into view. It didn't take me long to figure what it was when I saw the wire along the walls. Then I knew that Ms. Paterson was going to show me the building and start her speech that this was where I was going to end up one day. But she didn't, she pulled into the gate and was met by the guard who seemed to know her. We were passed on in and she found a place to park. She then told me that she wanted me to talk to someone. At this point I did begin to get scared as this was the state prison for women, the hardcore ones." Ivy told her. "Oh shit," Bridget said covering her mouth after saying it. "I would be scared to death going into a place like that." "I was though I tried not to show it." Ivy told her pausing for a second to take a sip of her wine before continuing. "Ms. Peterson took me on inside and she went to the desk as I stood back looking at the cold concrete walls. She talked to the guard for a few minutes and then after he had made a phone call, he gave her two passes. ""Come on, there is someone I want you to talk to." She told me in that voice of hers. And while I didn't want to, I got my now shaky legs to work and I went with her through a steel door. We went down a long hallway escorted by another guard, this time a female one. She opened a door and Ms. Peterson stopped at the door." Ivy said. "She said to me, "Now I want you to listen carefully to what this woman has to say to you." Ms Peterson told me." Ivy went on to say. "You're not going in with me?" I asked her. ""No, this you got to do alone," Ms Peterson said before putting her hand on my shoulder and propelling me into the room. The steel door shut and I felt my knees go weak. The guard took me to a small cubical that had a glass window in front and a phone to the right side. The guard stood back against the wall and about ten minutes later I saw a door opening on the other side of the glass and a guard brought in a woman who had hand cuffs and leg irons on. She came on in and sat in the chair in front of me. The woman looked to be about fifty but I later learned that she was in her late thirties. She pointed to the phone with her hand cuff hands so I picked it up as she did. She told me that her name was Karen and that Ms. Peterson asked her to tell me her story. I just mumbled okay and Karen told me to speak up and I did, saying okay again louder but very shaky voice." Ivy said before taking another sip of her wine. "She said that she was in prison for robbery and contributing to the murder of three people at a bank. She admitted that she was the driver of the getaway can and while she didn't kill anyone, she was just a guilty as the people who did the murders. She told me a story that sounded a lot alike mine in that she got into the wrong crowd when she was young, got into drugs and quit school though she was smart enough to make something of herself. She went on for a while with her story and she said her greatest regret and she had many was that she had to give up her baby and let someone else raise her. At that point, she began to cry and I had to admit that I was about to cry too." Ivy said. "She got to you didn't she?" Bridget said. "Yes she did," Ivy said with a soft smile. "She talked to me for over an hour and there wasn't anything that I didn't know about her, her life before prison and the time she spent inside which did scare the hell out of me. Finally the guard on her side of the window told Karen to wrap it up. That was when Karen told me to tell her baby that she loved her which I thought was strange at the time. So anyway I was escorted back out to the main lobby where Ms. Peterson was waiting for me. She didn't say a word; she just took me back out to her car and took me home. She never said a word on the trip, just letting me think and think I did. She took me straight to my house which was strange that she knew where I lived but that thought didn't occur to me at the time. I started to get out when she put her hand on my arm and she said, "Ivy, you're at a fork in the road, be careful which road you take." Then she let go of my arm and I got out. When I got inside of my house, my mom was there waiting for me which was another strange thing that went past me as mom was suppose to work a double shift that day. She offered to cook me something to eat which I declined and got no argument from her, another strange thing that I missed." Ivy told her. "Oh I like this lady, she worked you like a fine violin," Bridget told her. Ivy laughed, "Oh yes she did. That night, I didn't sleep a wink; I just kept remembering that cold prison and Karen's story. I went on to school where another strange thing happened." "Which was?" Bridget asked wanting Ivy to continue with her very interesting story. "Well when lunch came around a few of the girl's hockey team approached me and told me to come with them. Now normally I would tell them to fuck off but while they were good girls, they were tough and I was out numbered so I went along. They stopped outside one of the girls bathrooms that was out of the way and pushed me inside. I figured that they were going to beat me up for some reason but they stayed outside. Inside there was Brenda, the goalie for the hockey team standing against the far wall. She was a big girl but very quick one; she was a year ahead of me in school and I sort of knew her but not really. The first thing that she said to me was that she heard that I had met her mother. Now I knew that her mother was Ms. Peterson so that was a strange thing for her to say but then I looked closely at her and I looked into her eyes and then it hit me." Ivy said. "Karen was her real mother wasn't she?" Bridget asked. "Yep, she was." Ivy said with a smile. "Ms. Peterson had adopted her and she had made sure that Karen was kept up to date with her daughter and vise versa. So we talked a few minutes as she asked about her mom and I told her everything. Then she asked me if I was going to tell anyone who her real mom was and I said no. Not because I was afraid of her and her pals but because I knew it would be wrong for me to do so. That was her secret to keep and once she found out I wasn't going to tell, she invited me to try out for the hockey team. Even though I had never played hockey, she talked me into it." Ivy told her. "So I take it that you took the road less traveled," Bridget told her. Ivy let out a laugh, "Yes I did, the nosey bitch got to me. And what was worse was the bitch was also working on my mom who suddenly stopped working so much overtime and was home more." "So you and your mom worked things out?" Bridget asked. "It took us a while but we both tried harder and were finally able to talk without arguing as much, though I still broke curfew from time to time. You see there was still a bit of a rebel in me and I just couldn't help myself. There was one time I actually got home on time but then stayed out in the cold until I was fifteen minutes late just to show that I was a bit bad." Ivy said with a smile. "You did?" Bridget asked. "Yea I did, and my mother jumped on me and grounded me for a week. I told her that was fine with me, I didn't have anything to do that week anyway." Ivy said with a laugh. "You just couldn't help yourself, could you" Bridget said with a smile. "Yea but when I was in college, mom told me she saw that I was home on time but she understood my need to be bad just a little. And I'm still that way; I do like to be bad from time to time." Ivy told her. "So I noticed," Bridget said pointing to Ivy's cigarettes. Ivy laughed, "How about having another one?' "Sure thought that puts me way over my limit for the day," Bridget said with a smile. Once outside and they got a puff of their cigarettes Bridget asked, "So did you become a star on the hockey team?" Ivy let out a laugh, "Oh no, I was never that good but with these wide hips, I was great at putting people into the wall, my bad side coming out in a good way." "And what about Brenda, did you two become best friends?" Bridget asked. Ivy gave her a mischievous grin before saying, "Sort of and we also became lovers for a while." "Oh," Bridget said and she felt her face go warm for a moment but what was worse was that she felt something else go warm, something that was between her legs and she felt herself imaging Ivy with a woman. This just served to make her face grow redder and warmer. "That doesn't bother you does it?" Ivy asked studying her. "Oh no, I'm cool with it." Bridget told her which she was in one way but another way it bothered her as it brought up feelings that she wanted to keep hidden. And what was worse, with the way Ivy was looking at her, it felt like she could see inside of her and knew the feelings that she was trying so hard to keep inside of her. "Good, I think we can be real good friends and I don't want anything to come between that happening..." Ivy said with a soft smile and Bridget felt Ivy touch her hand and then giving it a squeeze. "I think we can too and it won't," Bridget replied as she gave Ivy's hand a squeeze back before she realized what she was doing and then she quickly took her hand away. Bridget then got Ivy off that delicate subject and back onto Ivy's past. Ivy told her that at her first hockey game that she got to play in, she saw her mother and Ms. Peterson sitting together and cheering her on. She said that was when she knew that Ms. Peterson had been talking to her mom and how she knew where she lived. They talk for a while sharing another glass of wine and another cigarette before Bridget left to head back to her apartment but not before accepting Ivy's invitation to dinner and a movie that Friday night. When Bridget got back to her apartment, she went to her bedroom to get her pajamas, which was a set of shorts and top with little hearts all over them. She loved to wear these during the summer as they were cool and lose fitting. She took them to the bathroom where she undressed down to her panties before putting on her pajamas. She peed, washed her hands, and then brushed her teeth. She went back into her main living area, going to the bed. She turned on the alarm before getting into bed and turning off the light. She covered up and began to relax. She wasn't one of those people who could go right off to sleep. She had to let her mind unwind a little first. Her mother had hated that about her when she was little as it took a couple of books that she had to read to her to get her to sleep. All of her older brothers and sisters it had taken only a page or two. She was just cursed with an overactive mind that had to have time to slow down. So Bridget first thought about her first day as a teacher which she thought went well. She knew she had a lot to learn about teaching but at least she now knew that she could be a teacher and maybe a good one. Next her mind went to Ivy and her story of going from a rebel, to a good student, to a hockey player, and then to a teacher. She felt herself smiling as she thought about Ivy but then her mind went back to Ivy and hockey. While she didn't know a lot about hockey, she was from the north so she knew enough. But it wasn't the hockey that she was really thinking about; it was about Ivy and her friend Brenda. Again it wasn't about them playing hockey together but what else they did. Ivy didn't go into any detail about her love affair with Brenda, only mentioning it but that was enough for her mind to begin to think about it. She tried to get her mind off of them together but her mind refused, instead thinking about them in the shower after practice or a game, them being all alone and naked in the shower. She knew this wasn't realistic but her mind had latched onto this fantasy and wasn't letting go. She felt her pussy begin to tingle and her right hand went there. She slipped her fingers under her pajama shorts and her panties. She felt her pubic hair letting her fingers run through the thick fine hair. When she fingers got to her pussy, she felt a pang of guilt course through her body but her fingers went on, beginning to rub her pussy lips that were already getting wet. She opened her legs so that her fingers could do their magic on her pussy lips and clit. Her mind was imagining Brenda and Ivy coming together in the shower, kissing and caressing each other. Their hands moving against each other but then her mind played a dirty trick on her. It replaced Brenda with herself. She was the one kissing Ivy and caressing her body. Her fingers touching Ivy's breasts and then she was kissing those nipples. She felt Ivy's hands touch her small breasts and then she felt Ivy's hand go down toward her pussy. But before they got to her pussy, she felt her pussy spasm and she was racked with a powerful orgasm. Her fingers had been rubbing her clit hard since she replaced Brenda with herself and she lost control of her own masturbation. Once she had recovered, she felt that familiar guilt come over her as she had done what her mother and priest had drilled into her brain was wrong. However the orgasm did tire her out and relax her enough for her to fall asleep. When her alarm went off the next morning, she turned it off and she lay there for a moment. Her mind slowly woke up and then she realized that for the first time in her life, she didn't have those bad dreams that always came to her after she had masturbated. She wasn't sure what that meant but she was glad of all the same. She didn't see Ivy that morning on her way out of the apartment building nor did she see her car. Bridget figured that Ivy had left early for which she was glad. After what she had done when she got back to her apartment, she wanted to avoid Ivy for a few days to get her out of mind and stop herself from thinking of Ivy in the way that she had. She had discovered from the pop quiz that she had given to her first class that word problems were what they all had the most problems. She decided to change what she had originally planned in that she moved word problems from the last thing she would teach them to the first thing. She figured that she might as well get the hard part over with first. When she announced this to her class she got the expected moans and groans. Becky told her that she hoped that she liked her hair colored blue because it definitely was going to be and that got a laugh from the class. But Bridget just smiled and started her class. She made it a group project giving them an easy one and helping them to break it down from words to an actual math problem. She wasn't interested in them actually solving the problem, just wanted them to realize that word problems wasn't as scary as they thought. She didn't get them to the point of being able to solve word problems that first class but she did get them to have fun and she believed that a couple of light bulbs began to glow, one of them being Becky. When she got to her lunch period, she got into her purse to get a mint and she saw her pack of cigarettes. She so wanted one but she had a few hours to go before that could happen. However fate walked into her classroom right at that time. "You wouldn't want to join me for a cigarette about now would you?" Ivy asked her with a grin on her face. Bridget gasped first as Ivy scared her but then when she saw her smile, Bridget found herself smiling back. And as much as she thought that she had wanted to avoid Ivy, she was glad to see her and not only because she was offering a cigarette that she wanted in the worst way. "I'd love one but just how are we going to manage that without getting caught?" Bridget asked. "Oh I know of a place, but we have to hurry, I only have about thirty minutes before my next class. We're on a slightly different schedule in middle school that high school." Ivy told her. "Well let's hurry then," Bridget said as she grabbed her cigarettes and a lighter but then she didn't know where to hide them. "Let me have them," Ivy said as Bridget came over to the door. "I got the perfect hiding place," she went on to say giving Bridget a wink. Bridget watched as Ivy opened her blouse a little and slipped the pack and lighter into the top part of her left bra cup. "The perfect hiding place," Ivy said giving her another wink. "I see," Bridget said feeling herself blush a little. "Come on," Ivy said taking her hand and pulling her down the hallway. They went to the end of the hall where there was an old maintenance stairwell. However that door was always kept locked with only the maintenance personal having the key to it. Bridget watched as Ivy pulled a key from the waistband of her slacks with which she preceded to unlock the door. "I'm not going to ask how you managed to get that key," Bridget said as they both slipped inside the stairway and Ivy locked the door behind them. "I got my ways," Ivy said with a grin. "I can see that," Bridget said before they headed down to the basement of the building. Ivy took her onto the boiler room when she stopped and pulled both of their packs of cigarettes from her bra. "See the perfect hiding place," Ivy told her. "Yes it is on both accounts," Bridget said blushing a little and then she said to change the subject she had hinted at, "So the maintenance guy won't come by?" "He might..." Ivy said after taking a puff on her cigarette. ""What will he do if he catches us?" Bridget had to ask. "Probably join us for a cigarette," Ivy said bringing out a full ash tray from behind one of the tool boxes there. "Oh, that's good," Bridget said relaxing a little knowing that they wouldn't be turned in. So they talked a little about their day while they smoked their cigarettes and then they headed back up the stairs which was a lot more taxing on her legs than going down them. At least smoking in the basement would help to keep her legs in shape. Ivy had to stop on her floor as she was running down on time, so Bridget put her cigarette pack and lighter inside her bra like Ivy had done and made it back up to her classroom. She then popped that mint that she had gotten out into her mouth to cover her breath. She didn't see Ivy that afternoon when she left school, nor did she talk to her that evening. She didn't see her again until the next day when Ivy came to her for their smoke. This time, Bridget wore a skirt that had a pocket so that she could hide her cigarettes in it as they made their way down to the boiler room to get the nicotine that they both so desired. Ivy quizzed her a little on what types of movies that she liked and Bridget replied that she liked anything except horror movies. She saw Ivy frown at that so she added that she could watch one if she had someone to watch it with and it wasn't just blood and guts with little plot to it. It did make Bridget happy that Ivy was making an effort to take her to a movie that she would enjoy. She liked that but it also made her begin to think that this was becoming more like a date. That wasn't what she wanted at least her brain was telling her that. They continued that routine for the rest of the week, sharing a smoke during the day but not seeing or talking the rest of the day or evening. This did give her time in the evenings to plan her next day. Teaching was new to her and she was learning things every day. She did talk to Ivy about this when they smoked but she also got to know some of her other fellow teaches who gave her some advice or just listened as she worked out a problem on her own. But at night, she did think of Ivy before she went to sleep though she managed to keep from masturbating from a fantasy of her. Friday finally got there and Bridget was glad, it had been a long week and she needed a break to refresh her brain. It was also the night that she was going to dinner and a movie with Ivy, something she was looking forward to more than she realized. But she told herself that she hadn't gotten to go to a movie since before she graduated from college and that was the reason for her excitement and not being with Ivy. When Bridget got home, she went straight to the bathroom and ran herself a bath. She slipped into the hot water feeling the taxing day ease away from her mind. Then she began to think about her date with Ivy but as soon as she had that thought, she corrected herself that it was just a movie and dinner between colleagues. That was all this was and would ever be. She kept that in mind as she bathed and then washed her hair using a strawberry scented shampoo that she liked. Once she got out of the bathtub, she put lotion on making her skin feel soft and smooth, including her legs that she had shaved before getting out of the tub. She took her time getting ready, picking out a nice dress to wear that actually showed a little cleavage, not much but a little. Then she applied a little makeup to show off her brown eyes. A couple of minutes after six she heard a knock on her door; she felt her heart flutter a bit and she checked her hair before going to the door. She opened it seeing Ivy standing there with a bright smile. She was wearing a tight pair of jeans and a sleeveless V top that showed a lot more cleavage than she was showing. Her eyes stayed there for a second longer than she wanted and she knew that Ivy picked up on this. "Hi there, you look nice," Bridget told her. Ivy grinned at her, "Thank you and you look nicer," she replied. "So where we going?" Bridget asked picking up her purse off the desk by the door. She wanted to get the subject onto something other than each other's outfits. "I thought that we'd go into San Francisco, I know a great Greek restaurant there and then see a movie that I think you might enjoy." Ivy told her as she waited for Bridget to shut the door and lock it. "Oh I love Greek food," Bridget said with a smile. "Cool, then let's get this show on the road," Ivy said giving her a wink. They talked about their week on the drive to San Francisco, which Bridget was excited to see. Coming from the east coast, she had heard a lot about San Francisco and wanted to see all the sights there. So by the time that they got to the city, Bridget found that she had accepted Ivy's offer to come back on Saturday to do a little touring, which would include a ride on the famous trolley system. This excited Bridget to no ends and she wasn't sure which she was more excited about, seeing the city or being with Ivy whom she felt so comfortable with and who seemed to like her. They didn't have to go too far into the city before Ivy got them to the Greek restaurant that she liked. "So do you want to start off with an appetizer?" Ivy asked her as they sat down and waited for the waiter to get to them. "Sure but what?" Bridget asked. "Why don't we just got some of the jalepeno peppers, I love them." Ivy told her. "Sounds good but now I don't know what I want to eat," Bridget said to her as she looked over the menu. "It's been a long time since I've to a Greek restaurant; I'm not sure what I want." "Well for the girl that doesn't know what she wants, I guess I'll have to get her everything," Ivy said with a big smile. "You're silly," Bridget said with a laugh. "I try," Ivy said with a big laugh. "The sample plate has a little bit of everything, that way we can try it all and then when we come back we can just order what we liked." "Mmm... okay, I do remember that I like the gyros, so I get yours too." Bridget said to her with a smile. "But I love that too, so I might not be willing to give them to you." Ivy countered. "Then I guess we have to fight over the gyros," Bridget said seriously but then she broke into a laugh. "I like my changes in a street fight with you, I'm bigger," Ivy said looking serious but Bridget saw the smile underneath the serious expression on her face. "That may be but I'm quicker," Bridget said trying to be serious again but then she had to laugh as she was enjoying this game. "Plus I grew up with three older sisters and four older brothers; I do know how to fight." "I played hockey in high school; I know how to slam people into the wall." Ivy countered. About this time the waiter finally arrived to take their orders thus ending the game but by then they were both laughing at each other. As they waited for their food, they did get serious over what they did like and some of the things they both know they didn't care as much for. So by the time that they had gone through most of the jalapeno peppers, their main dishes came out. They both did a little swapping. When the meal was over they relaxed with some Ouzo, talking a little about the school but mostly about the meal and Bridget realized how much she was enjoying this dinner with Ivy, she seemed to make everything fun and Bridget was able to forget her worries for a little while. After dinner, Ivy drove around the city just a little telling Bridget about the places that she had already visited. Bridget then suggested that they go the next day to places that Ivy hadn't been to so that they could discover them together except for the trolley that was first on the list of things to do as far as Bridget was concerned. Soon it was time to find the theater so Ivy took them there. Bridget noticed that it appeared to be an older theater but was in good shape. Ivy told her that they were running a bit late so she rushed Bridget right to the front door. Bridget thought that it was strange that Ivy had already bought their tickets but she didn't say anything. Ivy hurried on through the lobby and on into the theater that was showing the film that they were going to see. Bridget only got to glance at the posters on the wall and she saw that they seemed to either have two men or two women on them but that really didn't seem strange to her, at least for the short time she got to glance at them. When they sat down, she saw only women sitting together talking but again nothing clicked to her. The screen had a large curtain covering it like they did in earlier times and she liked that. Bridget asked what movie that they were seeing but Ivy wouldn't say only that she would enjoy it. They got to talk for about fifteen minutes before the lights went down which contrasted with Ivy saying that they were running late. The curtain came open and the movie began. Bridget had always been one to really get into the movie that she was watching, which was one reason why she hated horror flicks, she would get sucked into them and then get the shit scared out of her, something that she didn't enjoy. The movie started with two women lawyers who worked at the same large law firm but who also seemed to have a great dislike for each other. They had managed to avoid each other for years at the firm but were finally forced to work together on a big case. It wasn't too far into the movie before the two women lawyers begin to put their dislikes behind them and they discovered that there was a lot more to the other one than either realized. The fact that they both hated their client didn't hurt either as it gave them something in common. At the halfway point, their hatred for each other had turned one hundred and eighty degrees. And it was at this point that Bridget realized where this movie was going. She glanced over at Ivy who gave her a soft and in its own way, an enticing smile. End of Part One. To be continued... Please let me know what you think of my story. I welcome all comments good or bad. You can email me at numlfl@hotmail.com