Volume 14 - Onward and Upward, Chapter 104 - Hot For Teacher
"Settle down, children," Iormu called out as soon as all six of her students were inside the classroom. To be fair, she also needed to settle down, since the prospect of teaching a new class had her mind racing. I need to figure out a curriculum, and a reading list too. Where can I even order two dozen copies of 'A Brief History of the Hidden World'?
The kids' chatter and roughhousing continued for a few more seconds, until they noticed the imposing shape of Iormu looming over their heads. She'd risen up on her tail until her horns nearly reached the ceiling and glared down from above, which was an intimidating sight indeed.
"Sorry, Momma, err, Iormu-sensei," Pwess said as the kids quickly dropped to the floor on their cushions and looked expectantly at their teacher.
Iormu had lucked out with this group of kids, since none of them had issues with authority, at least not yet. Her high school classes would likely be another story entirely. In every time period, teenagers would be teenagers.
Just when Iormu was about to start the lesson, there was a rustling sound and a bit of whispering between Karli and Taky. They were not being as quiet as they seemed to think they were, and Iormu had very keen hearing.
In a flash, Iormu slithered forward and grabbed something from Karli's outstretched paw. She lifted the confiscated item up, then sighed. It was a bulk-sized bag of assorted candy, and Iormu guessed that Karli had been selling pieces to the other children. There was of course a school rule against eating candy in class, but there was a different issue at play as well.
"Karli," Iormu said, dragging out her name in the particular way that all authority figures seemed to share. "Remember how I asked you to stop selling things during class?"
Karli grinned up at Iormu and proudly said, "Yep, that's why I'm not selling this candy. I'm trading it." With that, she brandished a small toy car that had been hidden in her other paw. "Taky traded me this car for a piece, but he hasn't picked it out yet."
Iormu took a very slow and drawn out breath, then said, "I'll let that trade stand, but going forward, let's not buy, sell, trade, barter, or do any other transactions during class. Okay?"
Karli pouted, her dog-like nose scrunching up adorably, but she said, "Fine."
Iormu held up the plastic bag and said, "I'll put these on my desk for now. After class, Taky can get his piece and you can have the bag back." Then she grasped the bag with the tip of her tail and effortlessly set it on her desk, over 15 feet away.
Karli's eyes went wide. "What about recess? I wanted to trade with the other kids too!"
Iormu shook her head, sending her long braid swaying. "No trading during recess either. I don't want the other teachers complaining to me that their kids are all hyper on sugar or regretting their trades."
Karli looked totally defeated, like a sad little puppy dog, but Iormu knew she'd get over it quickly. In all Iormu's years, she'd never seen a kobold stay unhappy for long. They were eternally optimistic and it served them well when combined with their remarkable work ethic.
Iormu coiled into a pile near the children and class continued pretty uneventfully, even when the kids paired off to work on a craft project. They chose their partners quickly, since they'd each made fast friends with a classmate: Karli and Taky, Sam and Mona, and of course Pwess and Cissu.
The young slime and alraune got along especially well, at least partially due to the unusual role model situation they shared. Both girls had a half-dozen liminal women in their lives which they called their 'aunties'.
Cissu lived with a human host family, but the women of M.O.N. had become family too, ever since they rescued her from liminal traffickers. The team of special liminal agents tried to visit Cissu whenever they could, often making excuses to visit Okayado and claiming it was work related. Auntie Tio had just finished visiting Okayado, but she'd used vacation days to do it.
Pwess had all the women from Mountain Lily Inn doting on her, and even though she had two supportive mothers in her life, there was nothing quite like being spoiled by her aunties. She looked up to them and she was always learning from them, everything from self-confidence to responsibility.
While the children worked with glue and construction paper, Iormu watched and worried about Mona, the chubby Papillon girl. Iormu knew Mona lived with her human father, but she wasn't sure what had happened to her mother. That's a girl who could use more strong female role models. She's far too young to have body image issues… Well, no one should have those. I blame TV and magazines for that recent epidemic.
She sighed and thought back to her time in the middle ages, several hibernations ago. Back then, curvy women were idolized, seen as pillars of health and fertility. She scrunched up her nose and thought, Though everything else about those times was pretty awful…
As the kids continued working on their project of little scrapbooks about how humans and liminals can get along, Iormu remembered the other papillon in town, Flare. She'd been their limo driver on more than one occasion and she was close friends with Chione's girlfriend, Actia. Hmm. While I wouldn't say Flare's street racing habit is a good influence, she could talk to Mona about her own experiences growing up. I'll try to introduce them some time.
She was pulled from her thoughts when a girlish voice suddenly cried out for help.
"What's wrong, Sam?" Iormu asked as she approached the catboy. She lowered herself to his level, which was also about as low to the ground as she could get, thanks to her massive bust size.
He looked at her with big, weepy eyes and mewled, "I got glue in my fur and I tried to lick it out and it tastes really bad. Is it poison? Am I gonna die?"
Next to him, Mona was nearly crying too, fearing for her friend.
"You'll be fine," Iormu quickly reassured them. "That glue is non-toxic, so it won't poison you, even if it does taste bad." She offered a hand to Sam and said, "Let's get you washed up in the sink, okay?"
Sam nodded feebly, took Iormu's hand, and went with her to the building's little bathroom. It wasn't big enough to fit Iormu's full length, so she had to leave her tail outside while she helped Sam wash the glue from his paws.
When they returned from washing, it was time for recess. The children all scrambled for the door, except for Karli who went right to Iormu and her desk.
"What's up, Karli?" Iormu asked, already expecting Karli to beg for her bag of candy.
"Can I get a piece of candy to give to Sam? To get the glue taste out of his mouth."
Iormu was pleasantly surprised. Despite her obsession with commerce, Karli was a good kid. "Yes you may. That's very thoughtful of you." Iormu plucked the bag of candy from her desk and opened it up toward Karli.
Karli grabbed a piece, then said, "Yep! I remembered how Daddy said you can give the first one free, to get 'em hooked!" She grinned from ear to fuzzy ear, then took off toward the door.
Iormu just shook her head and chuckled to herself, then opened the door and let the kids outside to play.
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Normally, Iormu and Pwess went home together after class, while Quess was at work at the flower shop, but that needed to change now that Iormu had classes in the afternoon. In a rare quiet moment during recess, Iormu leaned against a tree, pulled her phone out of her cleavage and called Quess.
Quess answered, saying, "Pheromagical Flowers, how can I—"
"Hey baby, I got some awesome news!" Iormu blurted before Quess could even finish.
"Oh, hiya, Iormu. What's up?"
She sounds happy. Good. I really should have talked to Quess before agreeing to teach those classes. I hope she's okay with it… Iormu steadied her nerves and said, "Well first I need you to pick up Pwess at noon today. And every day from now on."
"Huh? Why?" Quess asked.
Iormu's left hand fidgeted with the neckline of her heavy-knit sweater while her right hand held the phone. "Uh, I need to sign some paperwork at the high school today… and I'll be there other afternoons too, because I accepted a job there. I'll be teaching liminal history!"
"Oh, congrats," Quess said, but there was a nervous echo in her voice, like she was worried about the details.
"It's just two hours a day, and it pays well. I was thinking Pwess could hang out with you at the shop while I'm working. Is that okay with you?"
"Ah, alright. That should work." The uneasy echo had faded. She added, "Early afternoon is never too busy at the shop, so it'll be nice to have her around." Quess seemed excited to spend a bit more time with her daughter.
"Great!" Iormu said. "Now I've gotta go. It sounds like one of my students just invented 'candy futures trading'. Seeya at noon. Love you!"
"Love you too," Quess replied.
Iormu dropped the phone back into her bra and went to stop Karli from pre-selling candy that she didn't actually have to the human kindergarteners. While Karli didn't take Iormu's requests very seriously, the human kids certainly did. They found Iormu equal parts intriguing and intimidating, which worked to her advantage when dealing with them.
I wonder if I'll have the same effect on the older kids? Iormu wondered as she approached the children.
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Iormu's first day of high school classes was just two days after she accepted the position. Since she was already employed by the school district, they didn't have to wait for payroll or any other formalities. The one thing they did wait on was student signups for the new elective class.
After two days of intercom announcements and flyer distribution, Principal Sakamoto went ahead and started the class with the few students that had signed up. She and Iormu were hopeful that other students would transfer in later.
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As the class bell rang, Iormu looked up from her lesson plan to see her class of students. A whopping three students. Huh, I guess it's better than nothing, Iormu thought. And I'll get to ease myself into teaching older kids.
Iormu straightened up and addressed the class, "Welcome to Liminal History. I'm your teacher, Iormu. I thought about having your first assignment be to find out which liminal species I am, but my name kind of gives it away."
One of the students, a bespectacled boy with short black hair and a slightly crooked nose, blurted, "I knew it. A real jormungand!" He quickly covered his mouth, surprised by his own enthusiasm.
Iormu smiled, "That's correct, mister…" She trailed off as she realized she hadn't taken roll call yet. She scrambled for her seat assignment paper to find his name, but the boy filled it in for her.
"I'm Jotaro Umino, Iormu-sensei," he said shyly. He seemed a little starstruck in Iormu's presence, so Iormu assumed he was one of those 'monstergirl' fans that she'd expected to find in her class.
"It's nice to meet you, mister Umino," she said. Since she only had a single name, the students had to use her first name, preferably with 'sensei' included, but she'd decided to stick to their last names. A formal attitude would probably serve her better in the long run, especially if another expected type of student showed up.
Iormu smiled at the other two students and said, "While we're at it, let's all introduce ourselves."
A girl with long brown hair and an unusually baggy school uniform shirt raised her hand and introduced herself. "I'm Naru Konyu, pleased to—" She was cut off by a burst of laughter from the third and final student in the room.
"Hahaha, you're the 'kyonyu' girl I've heard about?" he said. Instead of her actual last name of Konyu, he'd said 'kyonyu', meaning 'busty' or 'big tits'.
Naru flushed red and lowered her head, hiding her face and chest with her long hair. It looked like she did indeed have a very large chest for her age, and her family name was a rather unfortunate coincidence.
Iormu glared at the boy. He had spiky light brown hair, wore his uniform's collar unbuttoned and his slacks very loose, and had an unpleasant aura about him. This was the other type of student she'd been worried about: troublemakers only taking her elective class in hopes that it would be easier than a 'real' class.
"And what's your name?" Iormu asked him, trying to hide the venom that wanted to creep into her voice. The boy certainly hadn't set a good first impression by teasing miss Konyu, but she didn't want to make things hostile already.
"Keiichi Bradley," he answered, pronouncing the first name in a Japanese accent and flawlessly switching to an American one for his family name.
Ah, he's half-japanese, Iormu realized. That may be part of the reason for his rebellious nature. I've heard that fitting in as a 'hafu' can be very hard.
"It's nice to meet you, mister Bradley," Iormu replied, also using an American pronunciation of Bradley. She didn't speak English much nowadays, but the skills had stuck with her from her time in Europe and then more recently in California.
"Now let's begin. No textbooks or paper assignments just yet. I'll be starting with a brief summary of liminal history," she said, her voice clear and confident and carrying to the entire room. "I'm sure you all remember the day a few years ago when liminal-kind suddenly revealed their existence to the world. This class will cover everything before that, back when humanity at large had no idea they were sharing their planet with many other intelligent beings…"
Iormu's lecture nicely filled the one-hour class period, and all three students seemed to actually follow along and stay focused. However, in Keiichi's case, she was pretty sure his focus was more on her chest than on her story.
She ended on a vague description of liminal life in Norse times, not wanting to reveal her age just yet, then said, "That's it for today's class. I'll be in my office for the next hour if you have any questions or concerns." Then she winked and added, "Homework starts tomorrow, by the way."
Originally, Principal Sakamoto planned for Iormu to teach two classes per day, but with the low student turnout, she set the remaining period as office hours. If the first class filled up, that period would switch to another class, but for now Iormu welcomed the time to grade homework and work on her course planning.
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By day three, the Liminal History class had exploded in size. Three students became seven which became fifteen. It turned out that some rumors had spread through the school like wildfire; rumors about 'that sexy snake woman with a huge rack'.
Of course Iormu always wore a very conservative dress or sweater to work, but that couldn't really hide her massive bust or perfect curves. All in all, Iormu wasn't opposed to students signing up because of her looks, as long as they also learned about liminals and their difficult history.
In addition to bringing in some hormonal teenage boys, the gossip got the word out to a fair number of girls and boys that became genuinely interested in the class.
"Alright, class, please pass up your homework assignments. If you're a new arrival, you can spend tonight catching up on the two assignments so far," Iormu said. With the increase in students, Iormu was sure a couple would-be freeloaders or troublemakers had joined, and she was determined to hold them to a high standard.
The assignments weren't meant to be hard or time-consuming, but they encouraged participation and learning, which was the class's real purpose. Iormu wholeheartedly believed that if mankind understood liminals better, it would help both groups live better lives in their shared world.
Once everyone's papers had been passed in and collected, Iormu slithered up to the chalkboard and started writing. Despite her long fingernails, she had excellent control over the chalk and her neat, large handwriting was visible from even the back of the room.
However, as she wrote across the wide blackboard over half the eyes in the room were not on the board; they were glued to her backside as it swayed side-to-side hypnotically. Even straight female students found it hard to look away from the curvy hips concealed beneath her dress.
Once Iormu finished writing, she turned around and the spell was broken. The students scrambled to take notes on what she'd written, or at least most of them did. A couple boys had simply shifted their gaze to Iormu's chest and continued staring.
Iormu paid them little mind. As long as they weren't disrupting the class or being rude, and as long as they did the assignments, they could stare all they wanted. She'd never admit it out loud, but it was kind of nice to be appreciated, even if it was in such a superficial manner.
By the next day, the boys had become more brazen. They would whisper to each other when they thought Iormu couldn't hear, and the things they said were sometimes crass and unpleasant descriptions of her body. That kind of appreciation Iormu could do without.
"Mister Bradley," Iormu suddenly announced. "Will you please repeat what you just said to the rest of the class?"
Keiichi abruptly straightened up from his huddle with the neighboring students. "Huh? What do you mean?"
Iormu kept her expression neutral. "I mean the thing you just whispered. I didn't quite catch it, and I'm sure the other students missed out as well." In reality, she had heard his awful whisperings just fine, but she didn't want to tip her hand just yet. If the troublemakers knew about her excellent hearing, they might move to more secretive ways of communication.
Keiichi floundered for a second, then said, "Uh, it was nothing, honestly."
Iormu blinked, unimpressed. "In that case, try not to interrupt class for 'nothing'."
With that, Iormu turned her gaze away and resumed class. For the first fifteen minutes, things proceeded normally. The students followed along in their textbooks as she explained some of the ways liminals had kept their homelands secret from humanity at large. Since those methods were often surprisingly violent, even the troublemaker students were interested.
However, the students in the classroom started to lose focus. They shifted in their seats and grumbled to each other about something. When they started to remove their jackets, Iormu knew something was up.
She listened closely and found that they were complaining about the temperature. She pondered that for a second and realized that it was indeed quite warm in the classroom, but she didn't mind it in the least. Being cold-blooded had its advantages.
She cast a quick glance at the group of 'usual suspects' and noticed something very interesting: they were still perfectly focused and watching Iormu like hungry hawks. Even as Keiichi loosened his collar and visibly perspired, he never took his eyes off Iormu's blouse.
Oh? What's this? she thought. I think I know what's up, but this should confirm it…
Without pausing in her lecture, Iormu lifted one hand to her chest and gently grasped a button on her wine-red blouse. As expected, there was an instant reaction.
Keiichi elbowed his friend and nodded towards Iormu, then whispered, "She's finally doing it! Good idea with the heat!"
The cluster of teenage boys watched her neckline with enraptured interest. They hoped that the stifling heat had finally forced Iormu to unbutton her blouse and bless the class with a view of her glorious cleavage.
Iormu lowered her hand, finished her sentence, and then made her way to the thermostat by the doorway. She made a show of looking at the dial, then said, "Whoever tampered with this: If you had been paying attention to the coursework, you'd know that jormungand are cold-blooded and that the high heat in this classroom would not bother me." She cast her gaze around at the sweaty students and added, "However, it is negatively affecting your fellow students, so I'll be returning it to the proper settings."
She set it back to its default temperature, then returned to the front of the class. "While we wait for the temperature to return to normal, let's have someone read this next section aloud." She swept her finger side to side, pretending to have difficulty choosing, then pointed directly at Keiichi. "Mister Bradley, if you would."
The boy cringed, then stood up and read a paragraph aloud. After he finished, Iormu cleared her throat and said, "I already read that one. The next paragraph, please."
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Iormu had an hour between her kindergarten and high school classes, leaving her plenty of time to travel between the schools and eat her lunch. She had taken to spending any remaining time sunbathing in a small park between the campuses. It was far enough from either to be quiet and rather private, especially in the middle of a weekday.
"Iormu-sensei?" a voice called out from the north. "Are you here?"
Iormu frantically buttoned her blouse and smoothed her skirt. The sun felt so much better on her skin, so she'd had her shirt opened up a bit. It was by no means indecent, but it wasn't the image she wanted her high schoolers to see.
"Yes?" Iormu replied once her clothes were in order. Her tail was still sprawled out across a grassy field, but her upper body leaned on a picnic table.
Naru Konyu stepped into view from behind a tree. Her long, brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail and for once she was wearing a properly sized shirt. Unlike her normal frumpy clothes and hairstyle, this outfit showcased her sizable chest and pretty face. Her vibrant green eyes were also quite alluring. She was only 16, but with those looks she could be gravure model if she wanted.
She brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear, then said, "Sorry for bothering you, but I wanted to talk to you about something."
"That's fine," Iormu said, "but you could visit during my office hours too, you know."
"I know, but I wanted to say this before class. Before you saw me dressed like this," she said, waving a hand over her chest as she stepped closer to Iormu. Her face was flushed and there was an odd look in her eye.
Iormu went stiff. She thought, Oh no. Is this what I think it is? Does she have a crush on me or something? I figured something like this might happen, but not so soon!
Before she could say anything, Naru lunged forward and wrapped her arms around Iormu in a tight hug. "I wanted to say thank you, Iormu-sensei. I used to get teased by the boys and I was ashamed of my body, but…"
Naru ended the hug and stepped back from a thoroughly confused Iormu, then she continued, "You always carry yourself so proudly, not afraid to be seen. Seeing that gave me a lot more confidence, and ever since you started teaching, the boys have mostly left me alone."
Iormu smiled as she finally understood. I imagine their breast-obsession switched targets to me, but that won't keep them occupied forever, she thought. "I'm glad to hear that, but you said they only mostly leave you alone? What is it they still do?"
Naru looked down at her shoes, then said, "Sometimes they say lewd things to me and I don't know how to react."
"Well, I can teach you some tricks to diffuse those situations," Iormu said.
"But I'm worried they might go back to what they used to do," Naru said. She got really quiet and added, "Sometimes, they'd pretend to trip and fall into my boobs, and once a boy unfastened my bra through my shirt."
Iormu's smile vanished and she became deadly serious. "That is unacceptable. When a boy takes it too far, you should get an authority figure immediately."
"Really?" Naru asked. She didn't seem to think her complaints would be taken seriously.
"Really," Iormu answered firmly. "'Boys will be boys' stopped being an acceptable excuse decades ago. If they can't behave themselves around your body, that's their fault. Never yours."
Just then, Iormu's phone started to beep loudly. It was her alarm so she could get to class on time. She silenced it, then said, "Sorry, but it looks like we need to get going. Come by my office anytime and I'll teach you those tricks. Okay, miss Konyu?"
Naru nodded, then said, "Thank you again, Iormu-sensei. See you in class." With that, she skipped back toward the school building, looking happier than Iormu had ever seen her.
Iormu gathered her things from the picnic table and started in the same direction. When Naru reached the main path to the school, Iormu saw a boy approach the girl and start walking alongside her. It was Jotaro Umino, the monstergirl enthusiast, and judging by Naru's friendly reaction to him, he was not one of the boys that had harassed her.
Iormu smiled and said to herself, "Ah, it's nice to see there's some good guys around, too."