Health Class Rumors

“Oh Mary, my Mary! Have you heard the rumors?”

Mary Bancroft sat hunched over a book thick enough to contain two bibles. Her big brown eyes, magnified by her goggle-like glasses, squinted carefully at the pages. In this position, her curtain bangs routinely fell over her eyes, causing her to absentmindedly brush the hair away every few seconds. When Becca Matthews called her name, she shot up straight and looked around frantically, her messy brown hair billowing around her perfectly round face.

“Egad! You scared me!”

“Egad? Jeez, Mary, for who’s only eighteen, you act like you’re eighty!”

“What do you want, Becca?”

Mary’s voice was soft and high, like the squeak of a mouse.

“I said, have you heard the rumors?”

“What rumors?”

“The rumor that an evil sex demon has infiltrated the school, targeting students for her lascivious plans!”

Mary raised an eyebrow, “really? A sex demon? That sounds like something an immature, pervert boy would come up with.”

“It’s true! Jenny Walters saw it herself! Apparently, the demon only targets the prettiest girls, so you should be fine.”

Mary turned beet red and yanked on one of her two long braids. She couldn’t help but notice the way Becca puffed out her chest while saying that last part. Even through the uniform, her goods shown through. Meanwhile, Mary was totally lacking in that department.

“Oh now why would you say that, Becca?”

“Don’t take it personally, Mary! Not all of us can be sexy and sensual.”

“Ew! Why would anyone want to be either of those things? Sex,” Mary turned a slight shade of purple when she uttered the word, “is just weird and gross!”

“Sounds like cope to me girly. We all know I get asked out way more than you!”

“Hey! I could get asked out if I wanted that! I just don’t.”

“Poor, poor Mary. It’s okay. You can just be one of the guys. I’m sure that’s how most of them see you, anyways.”

Mary looked like she was about to blow her fuse. She opened her mouth to speak, but closed it again immediately once Mrs. Greenwood, the health teacher, swooped in.

“Matthews, get back to your seat!” The teacher demanded.

Becca begrudgingly slipped back to the other side of the classroom, leaving Mary to stew. Becca was her friend, at least on paper, but she could be such a jerk sometimes.

I’m not one of the guys! So what if I don’t go out of my way to look, ugh, sexy?

Truth be told, sex had always made Mary deeply uncomfortable. She had only ever tried to play with herself once and had spent the next week feeling crippling shame. She had eventually decided that whole sphere of experience just wasn’t for her.

Eventually, Mary distracted herself by listening into the lecture. A dutiful student, Mary found nearly all subjects fascinating, this one especially. It was a discussion of puberty and the driving forces behind it.

“For males, the testicles serve two functions. The first is the production of sperm.”

There were giggles peppered throughout the class. Mary rolled her eyes. Her classmates could be so immature, especially the boys. She certainly was not one of them.

“The second is the production of hormones that produce the secondary sexual characteristics in males. Deeper voice, higher muscle mass, body and facial hair.”

Mary raised her hand, curious. She knew that the testicles produced sperm, but she hadn’t realized they also produced androgenic hormones.

“Do the size and structure of the testes affect the amount of hormones released? I know that breast size does not actually affect milk production.”

Mrs. greenwood smiled, happy to receive a genuine question for once.

“Good question, Mary! Yes, the size of the testes can affect hormonal output and sperm production, with bigger organs producing more of both.”

Mary jotted a note in her notebook, trying her best to ignore the titters and giggles of her classmates.

As the class period went on, Mary found herself thinking about the sex demon story Becca had mentioned more and more. It was utterly ridiculous, and gross! Whoever came up with it was a total pervert. Still, Mary kept finding her mind returning to the subject.

Ugh, stupid Becca and her gross sex thoughts.