Roy, a dedicated professor with a passion for literature, lingered in his classroom. The faint scent of chalk and old books drifted around him. His heart raced as Emma, an underaged student with a penchant for poetry, approached his desk with a hesitant smile.
"Emma, that essay you wrote on Keats was exceptional," he complimented, hoping his voice sounded as casual as he intended.
"Thank you, Professor Roy," she replied, her eyes meeting his with a mix of admiration and wariness.
Roy found himself watching Emma from a distance, his heart torn between admiration and an unsettling awareness of the boundaries he was crossing. His attempts to engage her were subtle—an encouraging nod here, a compliment there, a book gifted during school celebrations.
"I thought you might enjoy this collection of poems," he said one day, handing her a beautifully bound volume.
"Thank you, Professor," Emma replied, her fingers brushing the book's cover, her expression a mixture of gratitude and confusion.
Whispers began to circulate among the students. Liam, a close friend of Emma, noticed the frequent exchanges between her and Roy. His curiosity piqued, he approached her with concern.
"Emma, is everything okay with Professor Roy? It seems like he pays you a lot of attention," he asked, his brow furrowed in worry.
"It's nothing, really," Emma replied, though doubt flickered in her eyes.
Roy gathered his courage and approached Emma after class. The weight of his feelings pressed heavily upon him.
"Emma, there's something I need to tell you," he began, his voice low and earnest. "I can't deny that I've developed feelings for you."
Emma's heart skipped a beat. The words she had feared yet somehow expected hung in the air, leaving her unsure of how to respond.
Emma wrestled with her emotions, torn between the pressure to reciprocate Roy's confession and her own sense of right and wrong. The secrecy of their encounters added an intoxicating thrill she couldn't easily dismiss. "I don't know if this is right," she whispered, her voice barely audible above the whispering wind. “Actually, I don’t think I want to…” but before she could finish rejecting him, Roy glares at her with a certain intensity, grabbing her hands. “I need you, Emma. You don’t understand,” as he gets nearer to her, breathing deeply. She moves back out of fear, screaming, “Mr Roy, I don’t want to—!” Roy holds no regard for her words and forces her into a kiss with him, right there in the dark, dusty classroom, signalling the start of their manipulative relationship."Be with me, or I’ll hurt you," Roy’s threatening words were somewhat romantic, but they shook Emma’s very core as she was paralysed with absolute fear.
The affair continued, shrouded in secrecy, with Roy catching Emma after classes to make out and have sex when they were alone. They would frequently go at it in the hallways when no one was around, or after school in the dark classroom, after everyone had left. Despite how Emma tried to leave the relationship, Roy would always know exactly how to manipulate her to stay and continue the indecent affair with him. He becomes more and more controlling, until she eventually loses her freedom, and future, as she fails her exams and cannot graduate— causing her to face the wrath of her parents at home as well, oblivious to her situation.
