Trouble Is Brewing

Moments later there was a knock on the door.
Ricky and Jenna scrambled away from each other quickly. Ricky pulled on his boxers and trousers.
“Hang on a sec” he called, as he hopped around on one foot.
Once he’d zipped himself up he looked into the mirror on the wall and adjusted his hair.
He walked over to the door and opened it.
David, one of his students, greeted him. He’d never really got on that well with David, but being his teacher he had to keep his feelings to himself.
“We’re all waiting in the lobby for you two” David snapped.
“Well, now we’re ready” Ricky said back, getting slightly annoyed.

Ricky and Jenna followed David and soon they were in the lobby.
“Right. You lot come over here” Ricky called, signalling to his students.
They moped over to him and awaited instructions.
“The gallery is just down the street so we’ll walk. When we get there I don’t want any funny business. I don’t want any comments from people complaining about any unruly teenagers. Just look around. Take some notes. Sketch some of the paintings and just at least try to have fun” Ricky almost begged.
He heard random backchat, but he ignored it. He had to. It was in his job description.

Ricky led his class down the road and into the gallery. In the corridor he reached into his bag and pulled out 11 small notebooks.
“Because I know that most of you would forget to bring your notebooks, I brought some more. No slacking!” Ricky smiled, knowing that on some level he had outwitted his whole class.
Class members groaned as he handed them their notebook, all except Jenna, who took the notebook and smiled.
“Ok then. Off you go. Have fun and please don’t cause trouble. It’s my arse on the line.” Ricky called as his class headed off in separate directions.

Ricky wondered around the gallery, stopping every now and looking at a piece of art that intrigued him. He flicked through the guide that he had bought when he entered the gallery, reading up on each of the paintings.
He wondered from room to room, seeing new pieces of art, new techniques, and making idle chitchat with fell art fans.

Ricky moved into a new section of the gallery that he’d never been in before.
He noticed a plaque on the wall. He moved closer to it and read it.
“The collective art work of Christopher Reagan.”
Ricky had never really heard of the artist before, but he made his way into the room.
He looked at the first painting on the wall. It was fairly good. Nothing too amazing, but it was good none the less.
He moved on to the next painting. His eyes widened as he saw the composition in the painting. It was a young naked girl, laid out on what looked to be a red silk throw.
Ricky couldn’t take his eyes away. The girl reminded him of Jenna. She was so pretty.
His thoughts were thrown back to earlier in the day when Jenna said that he could draw her if he wanted to.
After a few seconds he leaned closer to read the plaque next to the painting.
It was simply entitled “Beauty”.
Ricky stood there for what seems like 10 minutes, staring at the pieces of art in front of him.
“Mr. Wilson is thinking naughty thoughts” Rickt suddenly heard in his ear.
He turned around quickly to see Jenna standing next to him.
“The offer is still open you know?” Jenna smiled.
“Really?” Ricky grinned.
Jenna nodded. “Yes, Sir”
“Call me Ricky.”
“Ricky? How come on your name tag it says Mr.C. Wilson?” Jenna questioned.
“Don’t even mention that,” Ricky laughed.
“Alright then…Ricky.” Jenna giggled.
“Hotel room?” Ricky enquired.
Jenna nodded franticly.

Ricky and Jenna hurried in the direction of the exit, but were stopped in their tracks by someone yelling after them.
Ricky turned his head slowly to see David wondering closer to them with a sly grin on his face.
“Where are you two going?” David asked.
There was a moment’s silence, before Ricky answered. “Jenna feels ill. I’m going to take her back to the hotel.”
David nodded suspiciously. “Oh really?”
“Yes, David. You tell everyone else to come back to the hotel once they’ve finished looking around.” Ricky said as he led Jenna out of the gallery. He was 100% sure if David brought what he just said, but to be honest he didn’t care too much.

Once they were in the hotel they rushed to their room. They kissed for a few moments before Jenna pushed Ricky down onto a chair in the corner of the room.
They smiled to each other as Jenna began to slowly take her clothes off, piece by piece.
Ricky’s eyes short all over her body, trying to take in every inch of her soft skin.
Once she was completely naked she laid herself down slowly on one of the beds in the room. She got herself into a seductive position and watched as Ricky gazed at her longingly.
He stood to his feet and ran his fingers over the soft skin of her thighs.
He finally took his eyes off Jenna as he reached into his bag and got out his sketchpad and pencil case.
Ricky sat back down in the chair, unzipped the pencil case and took out a pencil.
He looked back to Jenna and studied her form again.
After a few glances Ricky began sketching a few lines on the paper.

Within a few minutes Ricky had quite a good likeness of the girl in front of him.
He prided himself on how quickly he could get a good likeness of anything.
Once the outline was completed he began work on the shading.

“Sir, Sir! We can’t find Samantha!” one of the girls from his class called from the other side of the door as the banged on it franticly.
Ricky and Jenna’s heads both shot up at the sound.
Ricky quickly put his sketchpad down and Jenna shot to her feet and began pulling on her clothes.
Once she was dressed Ricky opened the door.
“Kelly, what is it? What’s happened to her?” Ricky asked, looking worried.
“We don’t know where she is! She’s missing!” Kelly said with tears in her eyes.

Jenna pushed past Ricky and began running down the hallway. Ricky followed behind her.

Kelly watched them as they ran down the hall, but didn’t follow them.
“David? They’ve gone” Kelly called once she saw they were out of sight.
David then appeared from around the corner and went straight into Ricky and Kelly’s room.
“We need to make this quick. They’ll know she’s not actually missing really quickly” David said as he pulled Ricky’s bag onto the bed and began the rummage through it.
“Damn, there’s nothing” he said to Kelly who was watching from the door.
Something then got David’s attention.
He walked over to the corner of the room and bent down to investigate what he saw.
“Bingo” he smiled as he picked up Ricky’s notepad.
“See Kelly. I told you he was a fucking perv!” David spat as he waved the drawing at Kelly.
Kelly cringed. “Just hurry up!”
David put the sketchpad up his shirt as he made sure that everything in the room was like it was when Ricky left it.
Once everything seemed to look like it did before, he exited the room, laughing to himself slightly as he closed the door.

As Ricky got down into the lobby he sighed a sigh of relief. He saw Samantha entering the main entrance of the hotel with a couple of her friends.
Jenna ran up to her and hugged her.
“Kelly said you were missing?” she smiled.
“Missing? I haven’t been missing.” Samantha laughed.
“Sam you ok?” Ricky said as he approached.
“I’m fine.” She giggled.
“Had us worried. Well, anyway tell everyone that we’ll meet them in the dining room at lunch time.” Ricky smiled as he eyed Jenna.

The pair of them rushed back to the elevator. Both of them found it hard to keep their hands off each other until they got to their room.
Ricky unlocked the door and grabbed Jenna in behind him. The pair embraced each other and kissed for a moment, before Ricky backed Jenna into the bed.
She lowered herself down and smiled up at her teacher.
“Want to see what I drew before we were so rudely interrupted?” Ricky grinned.
Jenna nodded her head and watched as Ricky walked over to the corner of the room.
He bent down, looking franticly for his sketchpad. It was nowhere to be seen.
“Fuck” he mumbled under his breath as he looked under the chair.
“What’s up?” Jenna asked, lifting herself up so she was leaning on her elbows.
“I can’t find it” Ricky murmured.
“You can’t find it?!” Jenna almost screeched.
“Yeah, don’t worry. It’ll be here somewhere”

As the minutes ticked by the search for the notepad got more frantic.
“Where the fuck is it? This is bad…This is very bad…” Ricky trailed off.
“How do you think I feel? It me who you drew! I hope for your sake you’re not good at art.” Jenna snapped.
Ricky suddenly stopped all motion and looked at Jenna in the eyes. “I’m an art teacher…”
Jenna shook her head and continued with the search.
After an hour of looking around the room they pair sat on the bed, admitting defeat.

Ricky ran his fingers through his hair and sighed.
“We’re fucked.” He sighed.
He looked at his watch. “Better go down for lunch. People will talk if we don’t go down.”
Jenna nodded and stood to her feet.
The pair left their room and Ricky made sure the door was locked.

Once Ricky and Jenna entered the dining room everyone fell silent. Ricky’s eyes darted around the room. Did they know?
Jenna walked over to Samantha and the rest of her friends and sat with them. Ricky sat himself down at a table by himself. He still felt that everyone was looking at him and talking about him, but he tried to ignore it the best he could.

After lunch Ricky retired to his and Jenna’s room. He flung himself down on one of the beds. He was so tired, but his mind wouldn’t stop racing.
After several hours of thinking over the events of the day, Ricky finally got to sleep.

THE NEXT DAY…

Ricky’s eyes fluttered open. He yawned and stretched his arms over his head and turned over.
He saw Jenna asleep in the bed next to him. Memories of the day before flooded back to him. She was still the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen, but if he could take back the events of the day before, he would have.

He looked at his watch.
“For fuck sake” he mumbled to himself.
The coach was going to be outside the hotel in 15 minutes. He jumped up from his bed and moved over to Jenna’s bed.
“Jen… Jenna the coach is gonna be here in 15 minutes” Ricky said softly.
Jenna’s beautiful eyes flickered opened. “Ok. Thanks”

The pair of them got ready in record time and went down to meet the coach and the rest of the students.
“Right, is everyone here?” Ricky asked. He hated asking it every five minutes, but he knew that if someone wasn’t on the coach it could be his job down the pan.

There was a definite tension in the air and there seemed to be a lot of animosity towards Ricky.
On the ride home Ricky sat by himself, staring wistfully out of the window.
He couldn’t wait to get home. He wanted to get away from his students and try to forget about what happened the day before.

Once the coach pulled up everyone piled off.
“Ok. Thanks everybody. See you all tomorrow” Ricky said quickly, trying to make his goodbye as quickly as possible.
Ricky walked to the bottom of the street and pulled out his mobile and punched in a few numbers before holding the phone to the side of his head.
“Hey Nick. We just got back. Can you come and pick me up?…. ok see you in a minute”
Ricky ended the call and put his mobile in his bag. He paced back and forth and he waited for his friend to pick him up.
He looked behind him to see Jenna and Samantha walking down the road.
“Don’t go near him Jenna. He’ll try to take advantage of you again” Samantha said to Jenna, but she made sure it was loud enough for Ricky to hear.
Ricky looked slightly confused.
As the girls passed him, Jenna looked up to him and mouthed “sorry”.
Ricky looked even more confused than before. Sorry for what?
Before he had a chance to say anything he saw Nick’s car pulling up on the kerb.
Ricky opened the door and got into the passenger side seat.
“Hiya” Nick smiled. “How did it go?”
Ricky shook his head, “Don’t ask.”
“That bad huh?” Nick laughed.
“I did something stupid” Ricky sighed.
Nick looked over to his friend and asked what.
“A student gave me a blow job and I drew her naked…” Ricky trailed off.
He would never tell this to anyone else, but he knew he could trust Nick.
“Whoa! Naughty boy” Nick laughed, trying to lighten the mood. “Well, no one will know”
“My sketchpad has gone missing”
“Oh… Well I’m sure it’ll turn up,” Nick said, as he pulled away from the kerb and began driving towards home.
“That’s what I’m scared of”

The rest of the journey home was silent, neither Nick nor Ricky knowing what to say.
They pulled up outside the block of flats where they rented a flat together. They got out of the car and Nick locked the door.
They made their way into the building and climbed the stairs to get to their flat. Nick rummaged around in his pocket to find his key for the flat. Once he found it he opened the door and went in, followed by Ricky.
Ricky threw his bags down in the hallway and walked into the living room. He flopped himself down onto the sofa and sighed.
Nick joined him moments later, offering him a can of lager. Ricky smiled at Nick and took the can. He opened it and took a swig.
“I’ve really messed it up this time” Ricky mumbled.
“You never know. Your sketchpad may never turn up.” Nick said, trying to reassure his friend.
“That might be even worse. I’d always be worrying about it” Ricky replied.
“Well, try not to think about it. I know it’s hard, but it’ll send you mad in the end if you keep mulling it over in your head.” Nick said as he got to his feet. “Right, I’m off to bed and I suggest you do too. You don’t want to be tired for work tomorrow.”
Ricky laughed to himself slightly and nodded. He got up to his feet and went into his bedroom.

THE NEXT MORNING…

Ricky’s eyes opened suddenly as he heard the buzzing of his alarm clock in his ear. He groaned and stretched over to turn it off. He sighed and got out of his bed.
The rummaged through his wardrobe and picked out what he was going to be wearing for the day ahead. He decided on his favourite blue trousers, white shirt, waistcoat and blue tie.
He laid them out of his bed and put each garment on one by one. Once he was fully dressed he put on some deodorant and looked at himself in the mirror. He ran his fingers through his hair to straighten it out.
He then walked out of his room and into the kitchen, where Nick greeted him.
“I’ve made you some toast.” Nick smiled as he handed Ricky a plate with two pieces of toast on it.
“Cheers mate” Ricky smiled.
He sat down at the table in front of him and began eating the toast.
“I got a message on the answer machine yesterday. From someone at saying they want to talk about our band. It’s probably a piss take though” Nick laughed.
“Yeah, probably.” Ricky mumbled; worried about what kind of reception he would get once he got to school.

Once Ricky had finished his toast he stood and headed for the front door.
“See you later then, Nick” Ricky called as he grabbed the car keys from the key rack.
“Yeah see ya. Good luck” Nick called back.

Once Ricky got to his place of work he got out of the car and locked it.
He took a deep breath and began his journey in the direction of the staff room. He noticed that a few students were looking at him and whispering amongst themselves.
“Wow, rumours do spread quickly” Ricky thought to himself.
When he finally reached the staff room door he stood outside for a second, trying to gain the confidence to open the door.
Once he got the confidence he opened the door slowly and walked inside. As he did the room fell deadly silent.
Ricky swallowed hard and went deeper into the room. He headed over to the coffee machine and pushed the buttons. Seconds later the machine began working, pouring coffee into a plastic cup.
Once the machine had finished its work Ricky took the cup and turned around. Everyone in the staff room were still staring at him.
There were a few random whispers amongst his work colleagues, but he tried to ignore them.
His fellow art teacher, Tim, approached him.
“Mitchell wants to see you” Tim said, smiling slightly.
Ricky’s eyelids fell shut. He knew that whenever a teacher wanted to be seen by the head it was bad news.
He took a big gulp of his coffee and threw the remainder in the bin. He exited the staff room and headed up the stairs to the headmasters office.
Ricky’s eyes fell upon Jenna sitting on the sofa situated outside the office.
Jenna looked up to Ricky sheepishly.
“What’s going on?” Ricky asked.
“I’m sorry, but I had to” Jenna said with tears in her eyes.
Ricky looked confused, but before he could ask what Jenna was talking about he was called into the headmasters office.
“You wanted to see me?” Ricky asked as he closed the door behind him.
“Ah yes. Now then Mr. Wilson… would you like to tell me why you think that you’re here?” Mr. Mitchell asked sternly.
“I’ve been using up too much of the school budget on paint?” Ricky joked, trying to get a smile from the man before him. It was a hopeless job as Mr. Mitchell wasn’t one for laughing or smiling at all.
“This is a VERY serious matter Mr. Wilson. I’d appreciate if you took it seriously.” Mr Mitchell snapped.
Ricky looked to his feet, feeling like a schoolboy being told off by his teacher.
“There has been a very serious accusation being made against you. It’s accused that during your trip over the past couple of days you have been taking advantage of a student. A Miss Jenna Watts. What do you have to say for yourself?” Mr. Mitchell asked.
Ricky swallowed hard and tried to think of a decent answer.
“Your silence says it all.” The headmaster said. “We also have further proof”
Mr. Mitchell opened a drawer in his desk and pulled out Ricky’s sketchpad and flung it onto the desk, on the page of the picture of Jenna.
Ricky’s eyes widened as he saw the picture. There was no denying that it was He found himself wishing that he couldn’t draw and that the drawing didn’t resemble Jenna in the slightest.
“I have no option but the suspend your contract with this school. For the sake of the schools name and at the request of Jenna I’m not going to be filing a report with the police. Now get out of my sight” Mr. Mitchell said, staring Ricky in the eye.
“Yes, Sir” Ricky nodded.
Ricky turned around and left the office. He looked over to Jenna who by now had tears running down her soft skin.
“I’m sorry,” she sobbed. “David gave him the sketchpad. I had to go along with it.”
Ricky felt tears welling up in his own eyes. He moved closer to Jenna and embraced her in a hug.
“I’m so sorry” she kept repeating.
“It’s ok. Don’t worry about it. Just make sure you keep on being good at art” Ricky laughed, trying to hold back his sadness.
“I think you’ve done enough of that” Jenna and Ricky heard from behind them.
They looked to see Mrs. Hardy, the deputy head standing, cross armed, looking at the two of them.
Ricky pulled away from Jenna and smiled at her.
“Good luck with everything” he smiled.

He exited the building and walked quickly towards his car. He fumbled with his key, getting frustrated when it wouldn’t go in. He finally got it in the car and sat for a second thinking about what just happened.
He felt the tears once again well up in his eyes. He couldn’t help but let them fall. He wiped them away furiously and sobbed away to himself for a few minutes.

Once he finally got his composure he began to drive home. The journey seemed to pass so quickly, as he drove home in a daze.
Once he pulled up outside the block of flats he got out of the car and made his way up to his and Nick’s flat.
He opened the door and went inside. He walked into the living room and saw Nick sitting on the sofa. Nick looked up and him and smile sympathetically.
“Back so soon?” Nick questioned.
“Yeah. I got the sack.” Ricky mumbled.
“Oh. Sorry to hear it. Well teaching was never really your bag was it?” Nick said, once again trying to raise Ricky’s spirits.
“Not really, but it was the only thing that was bringing money in. Our stupid band isn’t exactly getting anywhere is it?” Ricky said, getting slightly agitated.
“Isn’t it?” Nick smiled.
“What?” Ricky asked, confused to why Nick was so happy at a moment like this.
“Remember that phone call? Well I rang them back and guess what? They want to sign us!” Nick beamed.
“What? Parva?” Ricky asked in shock.
“No…no…not Parva. Someone else’s band” Nick said sarcastically.
A sudden smile came to Ricky’s face as he embraced Nick in a hug.
“As one door opens another slams shut” Ricky laughed.