"You could try scheduling appointments," she laughed. "Pray do come in, Tyler. There's tea on, should you like any. I suppose I've been reading far too much, of late. A shame when it's so sunny out."
Tyler took a cup of tea and added a bunch of sugar. "So everything's been pretty normal for you lately?" he checked. "Just good books to read and, y'know, mutant alligators in the streets?"
Her cheeks were turning a rosy pink; Miss Bennet did her best to ignore that. "Fairly ... ordinary," she lied, somewhat awkwardly. "I had to quite sternly lecture a student, for misbehaving in class. He claimed diminished capacity, on his part, and I allowed him to simply apologize to the other student involved."
It had only occurred to her after that story started that it led her back to unpleasant territory.
"I decided not to," she smiled. "The kisser seemed quite taken aback by his own actions, and the one kissed insisted she wasn't upset. Despite the violent altercation, that is. I asked the kisser to apologize, and he did so. Had it been another time, he still would have found himself in detention, but last week ..."
She bit her lip, not quite meeting his eyes. "It seemed ... many of my students were similarly overcome, though they did not act out in the same manner."
Lizzy was stirring her tea. One could spend hours being fascinated by a cup of tea. The colors, and the way that they swirled, and the way that they kept one from blurting out unfortunate statements.
"I made an utter fool of myself," Lizzy said, dropping her spoon abruptly and sighing. "I don't know how I'm to face my students again, after that display."
"Nothing of consequence." She shook her head. "I mooned over someone and batted my eyelashes a great deal. Horribly improper, but I suppose you're right. Everyone else was consuming themselves with their own unlikely passions."
She glanced up at him, quirking an eyebrow. "At least I wasn't the one making unwanted advances?" she said wryly. "In light of the circumstances, it might have been far worse."
She didn't realize, of course, that he had experienced far worse ...
"And you were in public?" Tyler offered. "So there's only so bad things could get. I mean, it was weird, but it wasn't like you were half-naked in front of somebody you already thought was way too hot for you."
Lizzy's eyebrow was going to stay raised, even though she was flushing. "I don't believe I've ever had that particular misfortune," she agreed. "Though I would have thought being ... undressed would be more unfortunate in public than in private. More people to be seen by."
Tyler shook his head. "Right, naked in public, you cover your junk with your hands and find something to hide behind and it's a stupid sitcom," he said. 'Naked in private and around somebody ... stuff can happen."
There were other times it was fortunate to have tea to stir, such as when one was blushing this viciously. Lizzy cleared her throat.
"I see," she said softly. "We aren't talking of humiliation, then. Is the ... situation one which ... might be talked through, or has lasting damage been done?"
Awkwardness might fade in time, but if someone had strayed from vows to another, that was a far more serious transgression.
He was fidgety, but that wasn't exactly new or unusual.
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It had only occurred to her after that story started that it led her back to unpleasant territory.
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Tyler probably could have come up with a more sophisticated way to word that, but he didn't feel like putting in the effort.
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"In a fashion," she said. "A kiss, and then fisticuffs. The advances were apparently unwelcome."
Which was somehow the surprising part of the tale, considering that everyone had seemed fond of everyone else last week.
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She bit her lip, not quite meeting his eyes. "It seemed ... many of my students were similarly overcome, though they did not act out in the same manner."
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"I made an utter fool of myself," Lizzy said, dropping her spoon abruptly and sighing. "I don't know how I'm to face my students again, after that display."
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"What did you do, Eliza?" he asked, trying to be gentle. "I'm sure nobody even remembers."
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She glanced up at him, quirking an eyebrow. "At least I wasn't the one making unwanted advances?" she said wryly. "In light of the circumstances, it might have been far worse."
She didn't realize, of course, that he had experienced far worse ...
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"I see," she said softly. "We aren't talking of humiliation, then. Is the ... situation one which ... might be talked through, or has lasting damage been done?"
Awkwardness might fade in time, but if someone had strayed from vows to another, that was a far more serious transgression.
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