Give her a hug.

You don’t know what to do in this situation or how to comfort her. She shouldn’t be taking the blame for this. It was your father’s idea!

In a panic, your first thought is to give her a hug, so you do. You get close and gently wrap your arms around her. She’s startled and flinches, but doesn’t move to push you away.

“Please, don’t cry. Don’t blame yourself for this. It was my father’s idea. If anything, I’m grateful to you for being one of the few people who’ve been nice to me.”

“…” She doesn’t answer, but it seems her crying’s stopped and she’s starting to breathe normally.

You start to break from the hug, but then Ms. Campbell wraps her arms around you and pulls you back.

“Thank you,” She says. “But I’m still responsible. I pushed for you being here because I thought I’d be the first step into the school becoming co-ed at last, but I just… left you be, thinking everything would sort itself out.”

She runs her hand along the width of your back comfortingly. She’s just a bit taller than you, so your head rests nicely on her shoulder. You can smell her shampoo on her hair. It’s all rather calming, really.

“Let me change that. Things have been terrible for you, so please let me help you as much as I can. I’ll be there to support you. It’s the least I can do, both as your teacher and as the one responsible for your situation.”

“You don’t have to. I’m okay with how things are.” Is what you want to say, but you’re not okay with how things are, and the close proximity is causing what you feared. You’re developing a crush or your beautiful, kind teacher.

“Okay.” You answer in a single word. You hug her ever tighter, and her big chest presses against you. That wasn’t your intention, but god it feels amazing.

Ms. Campbell giggles and pulls away just enough so she can look at your face. She has a happy smile on her face, and her hazel eyes look into yours. “Thank you. You won’t regret it, I promise.”

She finally lets go of you and you step back. You start missing her warmth and smell immediately.

“It’s late, so why don’t I give you a ride home? You live in one of the dorms, right?”

Uh…