Chapter 14

“Good afternoon, class,” Miss Roxanne began as the students settled in. “I hope you’ve all had a good lunch today and will be able to stay awake. It’s a little warm in the classroom today, so if you need to, you can stand by the window over here to get some cool air. You won’t need to take many notes. I’m uploading this and some notes to the classroom file box. We’ll be starting a new unit today, Procreation across species. Yes, before you ask or make witty remarks, we are talking about how different species have sex.”

She continued her lecture, “Most species do not have sex for pleasure, but specifically for procreation. Many go to great lengths to continue their bloodline; at times, even sacrificing their own life to do so. An interesting process in many species is mate selection; commonly, males must compete with other males to be selected as mates. Sometimes this is a mate for life, and other times it is just for that reproductive cycle. An example might be the Silverback Gorilla, usually a single male who mates with all the females in the band or group. Other males can try to compete with the head male, but until he gets too old, they usually don’t have much of a chance. Interestingly enough, because of this overall lack of competition, the male Silverbacks have surprisingly small penises.”

Giggles and laughs spread around the room, and she waited for them to die down.

“It’s true, they are pretty tiny compared to humans. The average is an inch and a half,” she continued to lecture, among more laughs and giggles. Joey glanced over at Steve, who was looking at him, then turned away flushed.

She went on, “Bonobos are another species of primates living in the Republic of Congo. They have often been referred to as sex fiends because of how promiscuous they are and how much sex they have throughout a typical day. They often mate with members of the same sex, males and females. Females are the dominant gender in this species,” she summarized. “What’s important to remember is not to make any assumptions about why one species mates a particular way. You should also keep in mind that even though we think humans are the most complex social species on earth, particularly when it comes to mate selection, we don’t fully understand the motivations of many species. Additionally, our social norms are not usually applicable to other species’ practices. For instance, lions often participate in incest when mating, in that the father or son could mate with a daughter, sibling, or mother, and at times males will mate with other males, usually to show dominance.”

At this point, many in the class were perked up and very interested in the topic, likely due to the developing sexual nature of their ages. She continued discussing mating practices for mammals, insects, birds, and other species, pointing out interesting facts. During the second part of class, she queued up a 30-minute BBC documentary on the mating practices of different species.

“OK, for the rest of class, we’ll watch this short episode from the BBC about mating. Just focus on watching and not taking notes, I will link it to you so you can watch again later to take notes if you like,” she announced. “And no sleeping. I don’t care how much you ate for lunch. If you need to stand up and stretch, that’s fine. Joey, can you come with me to assist me with some work I need to do?”

“Sure, Miss Roxanne,” Joey answered excitedly and walked past a few glares from his friends and classmates.

“Carry this box for me, and we’ll head down to the office to make some copies for everyone to take home. This also means you will have to watch the video at home and complete this assignment at home if that’s OK?” she inquired further, putting her hand softly on his upper back.

“No problem, Miss Roxanne,” Joey answered again as he followed her out the door and down to the office.

Joey entered the office to be greeted by his newfound lover, Mrs. Tyler, who perked up excitedly upon seeing Joey enter the office with a box of paper, then raised her eyebrows when Miss Roxanne followed shortly after.

“Afternoon, Mrs. Tyler,” Joey announced when he walked in. “How was your lunch today?”

“Well, my young man. I had quite a lot to eat. I probably won’t even eat dinner,” she said suggestively as she approached Joey, touching the side of his face softly.

“Good afternoon, Mrs. Tyler. Is anyone using the scanner?” Miss Roxanne asked while observing their interaction: “Joey is going to help me scan in these handouts for our new unit.”

“Nope, it’s all yours,” she answered happily. “And I’ll share this handsome young man with you as well.”

“Oh? I didn’t know he was spoken for?” she inquired with a flirty tone.

“Of course, he’s not. He works up here in the office before lunch. He and his brother usually. Nice young boys, both of them,” Mrs. Tyler explained.

“Joey is very nice. He’s been so helpful to me today,” Miss Roxanne agreed.

“Oh, he was invaluable to me today. He really helped me start this day out right,” Mrs. Tyler replied while pulling Joey in for a tight sideways hug.

“Glad I could help, Mrs. Tyler,” Joey responded to the praise. “I’m looking forward to tomorrow already.”

“Me too!” she replied excitedly.

The two broke off from the conversation and went back to the copy room on the side of the office, and Joey set the box on the counter.

“Joey, I thought you were helping me because you wanted my attention like some of the other boys here,” she started smiling at him. “But it turns out you are genuinely just a lovely young man willing to help any damsel in need. Such a sweet boy,” she said affectionately, touching his cheek as Mrs. Tyler did.

“Happy to be helpful, and to be truthful, I did come to class early to spend time with you,” Joey confessed, displaying a sideways guilty smile. “Hope that’s OK.”

“An honest young man as well as handsome,” she replied. “My date might have some competition; he’d better watch out,” she said jokingly but flirtatiously.

“Oh. I think he’ll probably be able to hold his own against a high school kid if he’s anything like his dad,” Joey replied.

“Well. I guess we’ll see,” she smiled and winked at him. “OK. Enough flirting with your pretty teacher, and hand me those packets starting at the top. I need to get them scanned so I can send them to you guys tonight.”

Joey began handing her the packets as she unlocked the scanner and started loading the tray. They worked out a rhythm and, before too long, started making small talk and glancing at each other with smiles. Joey liked where this was going. He would have to slowly lower her inhibitions so as not to scare her from her own inclinations.