Chapter 1

No one really understood it. Jeff Stephens was a remarkable teacher... or at least, so said the grades of the students in his classroom. Week after week. Month after month. Year after year. Top-rated test scores in the nation. He was moderately well-paid, but with his track record... why would he he stay at the MV Regional High School, located on the East Coast, and attended by the children of the rich and famous? There were bigger schools (MVRHS served about 800 students annually in grades 9-12), MUCH bigger salary/benefit packages, private schools, even consulting other teachers on how to teach better. So why would he stay? It would have been understandable if he had been bug-eyed over the celebrity parents... certainly hangers-on are not rare in the "celebri-sphere"... but he treated them like he would any other parent. Courteous and professional. Nothing more. So... why?

But he, himself, was tight-lipped on the subject. He was asked many times by other teachers, parents, students... even reporters. He always replied that he was simply content where he was. And that was that. Or was it?

The Investigator... an independent community newspaper... always looking for the latest conspiracy theory in order to sell more newspapers... decided they needed to find out. They'd recent brought in an intern, and decided to send her undercover to see if they could discover what they believed had to be Stephens' deep, dark secret.

Heather was 21 years old. But anyone who ever saw her would have said that she was the youngest 21 they'd ever seen. She was blonde and fresh-faced... and due to some unusual late-developing issues with her teeth, she was still wearing braces. She had hips, but her breasts were quite small... she was almost flat-chested. Most people would have pegged her for 14. She'd certainly had her share of problems getting into clubs since turning 21. As a college senior, she was interning at The Investigator and hoped eventually to get into investigative reporting as a career. And this was a huge break for her. Interns weren't usually sent out as reporters. But the staff had an interesting angle on how to nail Stephens... if, in fact, there was anything to nail him for.

While Jeff Stephens usually only worked with students in 9th thru 12th grades, the school system had approached him several years back to meet with the students at the junior high schools that served as feeder schools for MVRHS. It only made sense that, if he could help them, it would be great to get them on track even earlier in their academic careers. So he'd agreed that, once yearly, he would meet with the junior high students in each of the feeder schools, to help give them a boost in their study techniques. These events were always shrouded in secrecy. No adults were allowed to attend, and it was rumored that Stephens even swept the rooms for electronic surveillance before he began each session. The students themselves, a note pad and a pencil were all that students were allowed to bring in with them. No cell phones. No nuthin'.

But, could Heather pass as a junior high student? Based solely on appearances, she certainly could. So, on the appointed day, she dressed the part, and showed up for the Improving Your Study Habits session. She blended in with the other students by carrying on with some guys... who really didn't care that they'd never seen her before. They were just hoping for a shot.

The students took their seats and Stephens took his place at the front of the class. He was a reasonably good looking man... certainly not one of the "beautiful people" like many of their parents... those that America worshipped in magazines and on TV and movie screens. And he kept himself in good shape. He worked out 45 minutes a day, running and lifting, and stayed active with tennis and pickup basketball games. He looked good in his clothes. But, he was still single. No female (or male) partner... at 37 years of age. And that continued to cast doubt on his credibility with those who criticized him from afar.

He was a man of relatively few words, but he had a deep, clear voice... and it was nice to listen to. So, when he stood up in front and raised his hand, the class fell quiet.

"Good morning, students. I won't take all day with you, but your students and principal have asked me to speak to you a bit on the subject of more effective study. Nobody wants to turn you into a robot... but you might occasionally get that impression, right? All the pressure to study, to focus, to put aside distractions, to pay less attention to playtime and friends, and more to your schoolwork... that message gets a little old, doesn't it?"

A loud murmur of agreement by the class, followed by smiles and looking around at each other.

"So... let me ask you this. What if I could show you a way to spend 20-30 minutes a day on schoolwork... and nothing more? You'd have it all finished and done correctly. Your grades would improve. You'd pay more attention to what the teacher said in class (even if it wasn't presented in a particularly interesting manner)!"

The students laughed again... this time, more wholeheartedly.

"IF I could show you how to do that... how many of you would be interested? Let me see a show of hands, please."

The entire class seemed to raise their hands at once. But, there was always those who weren't interested. Stephens knew it was time to weed them out.

"Excellent. Now, all those who are interested, please put your hands on your desk... and all those NOT interested, please raise your hands."

Three hands were raised. The school's #1 stoner and dealer (who couldn't have cared less), and two guys who just wanted to show off.

"Alright. Last chance. Are you SURE that you're not interested?"

One of the tough guys' hands went down.

"OK. Those of you with your hands raised, please head on outside. You can find some way to occupy yourselves for the next half hour until the rest of the students are excused."