Pulling Teeth

Violet reached the fly swatter on her desk before I could rise from my chair and escape, quickly she exploded her furry forward swatting my face imprinting her admonitions deep into my psyche. I was stunned senseless and fell upon the hard classroom floor. As I laid crumpled like a brown paper bag the quiet portended the gathering storm.

I felt her toes nudging my cheek poking me for a sign of consciousness, they probed areas of my face kneading my skin like you’d knead a piece of fish pondering its freshness. I opened my eyes to see the sole of her open toe shoe come to rest on my mouth, “lick my shoe” she ordered in an otherworldly voice, “lick my shoe you bottom feeding scum,” I resisted and tried to gather my senses but slowly her toes pried my lips apart pushing the shoe into my mouth. “Suck my foot, show me how little self respect you have left.”

I could hear a low growl coming from her but I couldn’t see her face. Violet was standing straddled  over my paralyzed body with one foot in my mouth the other next to my head, my eyes followed her  stockinged legs till the shadow from her skirt terminated the view. I indulged for the briefest moment in the leggy fantasy when out of the blue feeling returned to my body, and I bit down hard on her exposed toes sending a shock up her shapely leg she would not soon forget. The room filled with a scream laced with cruel invectives and down right unpleasant words.

This was my chance and I took it, scrambling to my feet I fled out into the school hallway hung a left and ran. Running like an undernourished child gripped by shame I ran for my life hoping to escape from her reality. As I ran the words Violet had hurdled at me filled my head “It doesn’t have to be difficult or messy like pulling teeth with rusty pliers. It’s not necessary to always doubt yourself, to fear change.”

In the beginning the words flowed out with gentleness, I knew she cared about me, and wanted to help me crack my shell, more then my teacher she was my mentor, I wanted to please her but I seemed stuck in concrete unable to change, unable to meet her expectations. It was then I saw the light in her eyes fade, I knew she had given up, given up just like every other adult in my life and I knew the penalty would be painful and swift.

Violet careened around the corner barely five steps behind me, her breath on the back of my neck bridged the rage stoking inside of her, the skin on my neck blistering as she drew near. I was about to reach the safety of the cafeteria when her hands encircled my neck nails penetrating deep into the flesh, and she dragged me to the floor my head bouncing hard against the concrete.

There was no quiet for me to hear no storm about to rage, I laid still not moving not moaning. I laid dead while Violet stood and dusted off her skirt barely looking at my lifeless corpse. “ No one who gives up on themselves ever leaves” she said gazing out onto the quad bathed in afternoon sun, then walked back to her classroom to prepare for next period.

Tagged as: change, fear, shoe, teacher