And...switch

Sam felt like the professor was super, in his own words, dope. And he would be glad to actually have classes with her. If people asked, he might even joke about it being a shame that he retested. “For sure, no need to bother them now,” he chuckled, smiling at her. He nodded and shoved his hands in his pockets, picking up his phone and moving it from one hand to the other as he listened. “Yeah. And I got a bunch of time for that. I’ll make sure that I do,” he added with another smile, pointing towards the inside of the room. “So, this is it?” 

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“Just as long as you contact them if you need to,” she laughed softly.  “You do, and at the very least bondage is one of the more fun things you can practice.  It’s a bit like learning to paint or playing the guitar - even when it doesn’t go perfectly it’s worth doing.”  She followed his gesture and nodded.  “This is the one - we’ve got you where you need to go now.  I hope you have a good class, Mr. Evans.”

Sam laughed, shaking his head and giving it some time so it looked like he was actually thinking about it. “Well, maybe after class,” Sam figured they were at the right class now because he could recognize some faces, but decided to just hang out with the professor a bit more. “Hey, thanks. I hope so, to be honest,” there was a tiny shrug, before Sam continued. “Cool. I’ll make sure to pick up those classes next semester though, because now you totally have me interested in those rigs and knots and stuff. I bet I could make that work too.” 

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Her conversation with Sam had proven much more fun than she’d expected, and Thea was grateful for that.  “Fair, it can probably wait until after class I think.”  She gave him a comforting look.  “I’m sure of it, Mr. Evans, a hundred percent.”  It actually felt quite good to interest a student in a subject even if it wasn’t her own, especially when it was one of her favorites.  “You can absolutely make it work - all it takes is practice.”

“Yeah, it’s so much better. I don’t know, whenever I see a textbook I just get the chills for some reason,” Sam let himself laugh, shrugging and giving the professor a smile. “But paying attention in class is okay, that I can do. And slow too. My specialty, I’d say. Taking things slow,” Sam joked, shrugging and then nodding at her words. “Yeah, they look really hard. And like you need both patience and a lot of time to get everything done. And like you also need to know what you’re doing, because it can be uncomfortable if you get stuff wrong… I think?” 

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Thea smiled.  “You should probably check with the infirmary about that, because it sounds like a very serious problem.”  They were nearing the classroom, but she wasn’t in a hurry to see Sam off - he was a good conversationalist.  “Slow is honestly the way to do most things.  Take your time, figure them out, you’ll be a lot better off.”  He’d made an excellent point, and Thea hated to see him doubt himself so soon afterwards.  “No, you’re exactly right.  Some of those rigs can be pretty taxing, and if you’ve got a knot rubbing in the wrong place or something then it won’t be enjoyable at all.”

“Yeah, I like to pay attention to stuff. Like, in class. Reeeeally pay attention, you know? Makes homework easier later and I don’t have to do as much reading as I’d need to. ‘Cause then it can get confusing and I can get distracted, but anyway. Yeah. That’s super important. I’m trying to take things slow too, you know?” Sam smiled, even after rambling a little. “That sounds really cool. Those are like, the fancy knots and stuff, right? It looks very pretty in photos and stuff.” 

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Sam was a delightfully engaged student, the kind Thea was always glad to see around Devereux.  “That makes perfect sense.  It’s much easier to actually learn in class than from textbooks, or at least that’s what I always found.  And slow is a good way to start, always.”  Thea nodded, smiling.  “That’s exactly the one.  It looks even more gorgeous in real life, but it takes a lot of discipline to learn how to make those knots.”

“So I’ve heard.  I’m beginning to believe all of the rumors the more time I spend here.  The remarking have been a bit mind blowing especially since my Mistress went through one.  We really enjoyed dinner with you and Meredith, Miss.  I hope we can do that again in the future.”

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Thea smiled.  “I’m glad to hear that, because otherwise I’d have to try and sell you on how amazing the place is and I’m not really much of a saleswoman.  They’re definitely hard to deal with, so the less of them we have going on the better.  Yes?” she was pleased to hear it, because the dinner had been very nice.  “I would love that as well, so I’m sure we can make it happen.”

“Cool, cool, cool… Yeah,” Sam said quickly, glad to be moving on to another subject. He wasn’t upset or anything, he just wasn’t any good at this type of conversation yet. “Yeah. I’m like super into all the examples the teacher is giving us… And all about the importance and how to properly do it. I kinda didn’t know I had to do a check in too, like, with myself. So that was good info,” he nodded as he spoke, gesturing too. “Really? Did you take all three of them? What was the most fun?” 

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Thea smiled.  “That’s excellent to hear.  I love that you’ve learned so much already - especially about checking in with yourself.  It’s important that you stay aware of your own needs and thoughts, and what the other party in a scene can do for you.”  She nodded quickly.  “I did.  I think the most fun thing was shibari - there’s nothing quite as beautiful as that intricate ropework and I loved every single demonstration we did.”

I can definitely see that, it makes perfect sense, Miss. I tend to favor the end of the semester, when the students are packed full with everything they’ve learned in the semester. And yes they’re more tired, but they’re also very passionate about what they know. 

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I can understand that as well, I suppose by the end of semesters I tend to be more tired and less able to lead the class in a proper discussion-heavy lecture.  But as long as they’re learning, that’s all that really matters.

Well then I’ll take it. May I ask what makes it so exciting for you?

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It’s the time when everyone has the most energy.  The first three weeks of any semester are when we tend to have the most interesting discussions, the ones that form the basis for the rest of the semester - if that makes sense, Señora.

Sam could feel his cheeks going red, because he felt them burning at the teacher’s comment. “Oh, but… You know, it’s nothing like that!” he laughed, shaking his head. “She’s just cool and all, there’s nothing like going on or anything,” Sam said the words maybe a little too fast, eager to get to the next topic. “I like the Aftercare one the most. I think it’s pretty important stuff and it’s really interesting too… So I’m enjoying that one. Which one was your favorite? When you used to go here?” 

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Thea laughed softly, patting his arm.  “I’m only teasing, Sam.  Your private life is yours, and whether it’s like that or not really isn’t any of my business.”  She didn’t linger on the topic, able to see his discomfort and not wanting to make it any worse.  “Aftercare is a very good class and a really important one, so it’s a solid choice.”  She hadn’t thought much about her own classes for a while, but considered it.  “I think it was probably the bondage class to be honest.”

Sawyer looked up from where he was reading, smiling politely at the teacher. “Of course, Miss, I’d be more than happy to help.” He told her, offering the seat next to her, if she wished to take it.

Thea took the offered seat gratefully, offering Sawyer a smile.  “I appreciate it very much.  As a fairly recent legal claim, I just thought perhaps I could talk to you a little about how you’ve found the experience versus your trial claim.  Specifically, as the Dominant party, what adjustments you’ve made in your daily life with Fauna.”

That’s sweet of you to say, Miss. Are you happy for classes to be starting up again?

It’s just the truth, Señora, that’s all.  I definitely am, the start of a semester is always one of my favorite times of the year.

“It’s been going well.  Definitely settling in easily.  I’m surprised to admit that I like it better here than I ever liked Whitegate, Miss.  How have your classes been?”

“That’s lovely to hear.  Not to be too big a shill for my employers, but I do believe this is one of the best, if not the best finishing school in the country.  They’ve been good!  I’m hoping for no traumatic remarkings this semester, because that was a big issue last time around.”

Sam listened, nodding his head along as the Thea spoke. “Yeah, and this really cool girl invited me, so I think it’s going to be nice. Get all sorts of points of view in these things too. Information is key,” he winked, as a joke, and had to stop himself from giving the finger guns to a teacher. Sam shoved his hands in his pockets then, walking beside her. “Cool. That’s nice. I’ve had some fun time in my other classes too. They seem all pretty great.” 

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Thea raised an eyebrow.  “Well, there’s nothing like being invited by a cool girl, is there?  And you’re very right, the more you can learn the better.”  Thea nodded.  “What’s your favorite one so far?  I know I took so many good ones during my three years.”

“Well, that’s good to know!” Sam made a face, laughed at his own mistake and stood up, picking up his backpack and following the woman towards the door, out of the classroom. “Cool. Thanks. Yeah, it’s cool. Homework is a bit… you know, homework. But I’m gonna join a study group, I think. Just so I can enjoy every bit of this opportunity. Are these classes going alright?” He said, pointing towards the room they had just left. 

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“Study groups are always a good idea in my experience,” Thea nodded.  “As much as we as teachers can do for you, there’s nothing quite like being able to learn with your peers.  From your peers.  To be able to ask them questions and take in what they have to say.”  She led the way toward the Intro Dominance classroom, smiling at the question.  “I like to think so.  We’ve had some very interesting discussions so far and that’s always a good sign.”

“Huh… Now that explain it why no one here looked familiar. Oh, no, no, I haven’t. I guess I just followed the wrong person here or something. You know, there are many identical people at this place… I mean, I had a mark change before coming here, but no new ones. Anyway… That would be nice, yeah. It’s my first week of real class, and this rooms all look the same… ish.” 

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“Honestly, Mr. Evans, don’t stress about it.  It happens to everyone, especially in the first few weeks of classes.”  Thea stepped out from behind her desk, gesturing to the door.  “Let’s go get you where you need to be.  How are you finding the semester thus far?”

“Oh… For real? Isn’t this my… Intro to Dominance class?” 

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“I’m afraid not, this is the Introduction to Switching class.  So unless you’ve had a mark change I wasn’t informed of, I think you’re definitely in the wrong spot.  Do you need a hand finding the Dominance class?”