The editing suite.

Students were filtering out through the doors in groups, still laughing and talking about the night. The music had stopped, leaving the gymnasium strangely quiet after hours of noise.

I looked at Kat. “Is your mum picking you up?”

“Yeah. She's outside somewhere.” She looked at me. “Do you want a lift home?”

I shook my head. “No, I'm actually happy to walk.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I'm still absolutely boiling from all that dancing. A walk will do me good.”

Kat laughed. “Fair enough.”

I looked back at the nearly empty dance floor. “Besides, I had an amazing night.”

She smiled. “Even after nearly forgetting about it?”

“Especially after nearly forgetting about it.”

She laughed and nudged me. “I'll let you have that one.”

I looked at her. “I'm glad I came with you.”

Her smile softened. “Me too.”

There was something different between us now. Earlier in the evening, I'd been worried about making things right. Now it felt much more natural.

Kat stepped a little closer. “I guess this is goodbye.”

“Yeah.”

“I'm glad you came.”

“So am I.”

I reached for her hand and squeezed it. She squeezed back. Then we both leaned in almost at the same time. Our lips met. It was a proper kiss this time; warm, mutual, and unhurried. Neither of us seemed particularly interested in being the first to pull away. When we finally did, we were both smiling.

“That was nice,” Kat said.

“Yeah.”

“Very nice.”

I laughed. “Very.”

She rested her forehead briefly against mine.

“Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, Kat.”

We shared one last quick kiss before she stepped back. She looked at me for a moment, then smiled.

“See you Monday?”

“Definitely.”

She headed towards the entrance, then turned around. “Don't get into too much trouble on that walk home.”

I grinned. “No promises.”

She laughed and disappeared outside. I watched her go, feeling genuinely happy. I'd been worried earlier that I'd ruined the night for her. Instead, we'd somehow turned it around. I'd had an amazing night with Kat. And I'd meant every word when I'd told her that.

I stepped outside a few minutes later. The cool air felt incredible against my skin. I was still warm from all the dancing, and a walk home would be exactly what I needed. Time to unwind. Time to think about the night.

Except my thoughts immediately drifted somewhere else. Joan. I glanced back towards the school. Most of the students were gone now.

I did actually leave the school grounds and start walking home, just like I’d told Kat I was going to. Except thirty seconds later I doubled back around and started heading in the opposite direction to home. The lights were still on in parts of the building, and I could just make out the faint glow from the media wing. Joan. She was waiting for me.

Instead of heading toward the main entrance, I took the longer route around the side of the school. Most of the students had already gone, and the corridors beyond the gym were almost completely silent. I was halfway there when I noticed movement ahead. Someone was slipping through one of the side entrances. I immediately stopped.

Carla.

I ducked behind the corner before she could see me. She glanced around, pushed the door open, and disappeared inside. I stayed where I was.

What the hell is Carla doing here? I thought.

She hadn't seen me. That much was obvious. I waited until the door had closed behind her before continuing. Whatever Carla was doing, it wasn't my business. Tonight had already become complicated enough.

I reached the media wing and found the door unlocked. Inside, everything was dark except for the soft light spilling from the control room in the editing booth at the end of the corridor. I pushed the door open. Joan was waiting inside.

She had changed slightly from the way she'd looked at the dance. Her clipboard was gone, her handbag was sitting on the desk, and without the constant noise of students around her, she seemed completely different. Relaxed and looking even more attractive than she had before, which was something!

She looked up. A small smile appeared. "Troublemaker." Her voice dripped with kitty-cat playfulness now.

"Ms. Holmes."

She raised an eyebrow. "Still. calling me that?"

"It is your name. What else am I meant to call my teacher?"

"You’re not meant to call me at all this time of night."

Joan got up and came over to the door I’d just come in. She pushed it, and the door closed behind me. The click of the lock seemed incredibly loud in the otherwise silent room.

I glanced around. "Soundproof?"

"One of the advantages of teaching media."

She walked past me and gestured around the room. "No students wandering in. No music from the gym. No Michael making inappropriate comments from the hallway."

"That's a shame."

Joan laughed quietly. "You'd miss him."

"I definitely wouldn't."

She came a little closer. "So you actually came."

"You offered."

"And you accepted."

"I did."

Her smile softened. "Good."

The room suddenly felt much smaller than it had when I'd spent countless afternoons sitting behind one of the computers. Joan looked at me. Not as one of her students. Not quite.

"Still think this was a good idea?" she asked.

I nodded.

"Definitely."

She stepped closer. "You're remarkably confident for someone who was nervous enough to spend half the evening staring at his phone."

"I wasn't nervous."

"You were."

"I was distracted."

"By what?"

I smiled. "You know what."

She reached up and straightened the knot of my tie, even though it didn't really need fixing. "There," she said softly.

"Better?"

"Much."

Her fingers lingered for just a second before dropping away.

I smiled. "You know, for someone who told me to be patient, you're not making it particularly easy."

"Perhaps I changed my mind."

"About being patient?"

"About teasing you."

She smiled. "Maybe I want to see what happens when I stop."

I stepped closer. She leaned toward me. And this time, neither of us hesitated. Her lips met mine. Our first kiss. For a moment, everything I'd been expecting seemed to disappear. All the teasing, the messages, the looks across the dance floor; it had all been leading to this. The kiss was gentle at first. Almost cautious. Then Joan relaxed, and so did I.

When we finally separated, she didn't move away. She stayed close enough that I could feel her breath against my face. Neither of us spoke for a long minute.

Then she smiled. "Well."

I couldn't help smiling back. "That was worth the wait."

She laughed quietly. "You really are trouble."

"You keep saying that."

"Because you keep proving me right."

She looked down for a moment, then back at me.

The playful expression faded slightly.

"You want to know why I'm doing this?"

I nodded.

Joan took a breath. "Because I noticed you before tonight."

That surprised me. "In class?"

"Yes."

She leaned back against the edge of the desk. "You actually pay attention. You ask questions. You have opinions about things instead of just repeating whatever everyone else thinks."

"So that's what did it?"

"Not exactly." She smiled. "I noticed you were funny. A little cocky sometimes."

"And you don’t think that’s going to be worse after tonight?”

"Don't push your luck. I can still change my mind very quickly."

I laughed.

"But there was something else." She paused. "You don't treat me like I'm just some teacher standing at the front of the room."

I frowned slightly. "How do I treat you?"

"Like I'm a person."

Her voice had become quieter. "Most of the time, when people look at me, they're either seeing 'teacher' or they're seeing what they think a young, attractive teacher is supposed to be."

She shrugged. "You looked at me differently."

"I don't know if I realised that."

"I did." She stepped closer again. "And tonight, when you came over to talk to me, I realised I actually liked talking to you." She smiled. "Then you started flirting with me."

"You flirted first."

"I absolutely did not."

"You definitely did."

She laughed. "Maybe a little." Her expression softened again. "And I liked it." She reached for my hand. "That's the part I've been trying to understand." Her fingers slipped between mine. “There may be one other part to it.”

“What’s that?” I asked.

Joan hesitated before answering. “I lost my virginity on a night like this. At my own school dance, a handful of years ago. It’s made me… sentimental.”

“Is that a polite way of saying horny?”

Joan laughed. “Maybe.”

“Didn’t you tell me not to start lying over that?”

“Fair point to you. Tonight has made me rather horny.”

We came together for another kiss right then, and it was a lot steamier than the first. I backed Joan up onto the desk, and she parted her legs for me. Her long dress started to bunch up around her hips as I slid my hands up her thighs. We were both starting to breathe heavily when we finally escaped our heated liplock.

“I should probably tell you something too then,” I said as my hand slipped into my jacket pocket.

My fingers brushed against the small packet I'd almost forgotten about. The condoms Heather had insisted I take. I stared at Joan.

She noticed the change in my expression. "What?"

I hesitated. "Something my sister gave me before the dance."

Joan raised an eyebrow. "That sounds ominous."

I pulled the packet out and held it up. She stared at it for a second.

Then she laughed. "Oh, my God."

"What?"

"Your sister actually gave you those?"

"She was convinced tonight was going to be interesting."

Joan shook her head, still smiling. "Apparently she knows you better than I thought."

The laughter faded, leaving something much quieter between us. Joan looked at the packet, then at me. "Are you sure?"

I nodded.

"I want this too." Joan gave me a knowing smile. “Before anything else, Troublemaker, I have one condition.”

“What?”

“One final media question.”

I laughed. “Seriously?”

“I'm a media teacher. I have standards.” She folded her arms. “Question: What is something you've always loved about my classes?”

I didn't even have to think about it. “Your Golden Globes.”

There was a beat of silence. Joan stared at me. Then she burst out laughing. “You are absolutely shameless.”

“You asked.”

“That was not the answer I was expecting.”

“It's an honest answer.”

She shook her head, still laughing. “And here I was trying to have one last serious teacher moment before we break that boundary completely.”

“You gave me a media question. I gave you a media answer.”

Joan pointed at me. “That may be the worst answer I've ever received.”

“But you liked it.”

Her smile gave me the answer before she did. “Alright, I did.”