Chapter Text
Sex Ed was always interesting to teach. When it comes to impressionable students with budding minds ready for the moulding, what do you fill them with when it comes to humanities carnal practices? Of course, you can show them pictures of people's naughty bits, but then most teachers have to suffer through the giggles and laughter of the children when they see the diagrams.
Most children don't laugh because it's humorous but more out of shock or nerves. They'd been taught not to stare at such things but now their teacher, a man or woman they usually see once a week, starts showing them overly detailed renditions of a penis or vagina, complete with little lines pointing to certain parts.
They laugh because they feel naughty or aroused by the images and don't understand how to deal with these emotions. The human body is hardwired to feel arousal at these things.
Then comes the explanations of how each part fits together, for lack of a better description. The children are taught this by someone who might not be comfortable with the subject, which makes for a poor lesson.
Then you have learning disabilities. Not all children learn from books or pictures as well as others which was why Edith Peters had the brilliant idea to show pornography to her class of underage students. She was caught of course. During her hearing, she admitted to being off her medication since running out a month ago, but she had been too distracted to pick up her prescription.
Due to a history of mental health issues, she was put on paid leave pending a psych evaluation which was only possible because she was close friends with the Headmistress. Edith had suffered from a severe impulse control disorder since childhood but had kept a lid on it through routine and daily medication. Those that knew her knew that Edith Peters wasn't dangerous, just impulsive.
Edith got into her little car and headbutted her steering wheel hard enough to make it honk before reaching to turn on the car's ignition and driving away.
It wasn't until later that evening that Edith finally decided to go home. She had spent four hours driving around; stopping once to eat at a fast-food restaurant. Her house had two stories with a large back garden. It was a nice place to live but, being single and allergic to animal hair, it was often lonely.
Much to her surprise, there was a moving van across the street from her beside an empty house. Someone had finally bought the house opposite hers two weeks ago which had been empty for months. Now it seemed the new owners were finally moving in. A group of movers were doing the heavy lifting while a young brunette woman dictated where to put what. Edith crossed the street and waved at the woman.
"Oh, hello!" the woman waved back as she spoke. Her brow was shiny with sweat and the pits of her shirt were also wet. It looked like she had been helping to move things before getting tired. "Do you live across from us?"
"I do," Edith stood on the pavement just shy of the lawn, "I'm Edith Peters."
"Amy Miller. We just got here."
"We?"
"Oh, I have two kids," she said just as one came out. It was a boy of around twelve or thirteen with a thick mop of black hair that almost covered his eyes entirely. Edith couldn't help staring since he looked adorable.
"Who's this?" he asked in a breaking voice.
"Parker, come meet our new neighbour," Amy held her hand out for Parker, who took it. He was wearing a cream-coloured sweater, baggy jeans and black trainers.
"Well, aren't you a handsome young man," Edith said with a smile, "He must be very popular?" Parker blushed a little at the compliment.
"Have you seen your sister dear?' His mother asked.
"In here," came a voice inside the van, "I'm just checking my list."
"Honey, you've been over it twice already. We didn't miss anything." There was no further reply. Amy sighed. "She's autistic, Aspergers Syndrome, so everything has to be just so."
"No harm in being organised," Edith assured her, "I've worked with kids on the spectrum before."
"Oh, where do you work?"
"I'm a teacher at the local high school."
"What d'you teach?" Parker asked.
"Social Studies mostly and Sexual Education when needed," she said bluntly. Parker laughed a little. Typical.
"Don't laugh," Amy said as she slapped her boy lightly on the head, "Mrs Peters will be teaching it to you, I'm sure."
"Just Miss Peters. I don't have a husband," Edith interjected, not bothering to admit she was on disciplinary leave, "I guess I'm married to my work. Speaking of, is there a Mr Miller?"
"No, we're divorced," Amy told her with a dirty look that screamed, 'don't ask'. "It's just The Twins and myself."
"Twins?" As she said that, the girl in the van stepped out onto the pavement. She was an almost spitting image of her brother. Edith had seen many twins in her career. Some were the same gender or one of each, but none were as unique looking as these two. Both of them had hair like a thick mop and they had almost the same body shape. If not for Amy she might have thought they were both boys at first glance.
"Wow, aren't you two just the cutest pair!"
"This is Penny. Penny, say hi to Miss Peters."
"Hi, Miss Peters," she repeated politely. Penny had brown eyes, like her brother, but magnified behind her big round spectacles. She was wearing an unbuttoned sweater jacket with a blue shirt underneath. Her jeans were tight-fitting and rolled up at the bottom of each leg. She also wore a pair of grey sandals but no socks.
"Well, it was nice to meet you, Edith. I better feed these little monsters before they start chewing on the furniture. Don't be a stranger." Edith watched them go in as Penny started trying to show Amy the list she had made.
"We didn't miss anything," she said with pride.
"Yes, yes, good work," Amy ruffled the girl's already untidy hair then they disappeared inside...
Edith didn't see her new neighbours for the next few days. Moving was always a hassle; so she had no doubt they just wanted to settle in. After that period, she'd often see the boy, Parker, come out with a backpack to get his bicycle and ride off. His sister, Penny, wasn't seen at all.
Edith had been out for a walk one afternoon when she managed to catch Parker getting ready for one of his bike trips. "Hello, Parker," Edith waved over at him. He blushed when he saw her.
"Hi Miss Peters," he almost mumbled, "How are you?" His shyness wasn't surprising since she was still little more than a stranger to him. People on this street were friendly enough but also incredibly private.
"Not bad," that was a lie since she was bored out of her mind without work. "I haven't seen your sister since you moved in; is she alright?"
"Oh, Penny doesn't like going outside," Parker explained.
"Because of her Autism?" Parker nodded, "Well, so long as she's happy."
"Yeah," Parker looked like he was itching to get a move on but before Edith could politely step away he hopped on his bike. "Gotta go now, Miss Peters. Have a nice day."
Edith watched him cycle away. He had started coming out every other day after settling in and always disappeared for a couple of hours at a time. It wasn't like she was spying on them. She just happened to pick up on these things.
Next week was much the same. Amy had told her The Twins would start school after the summer break, which was a month away, so they both had lots of free time. Parker continued to cycle to wherever he went while Penny would pretty much stay inside most days.
It wasn't long before Amy invited her over once they had finished unpacking. During one such afternoon visit, Penny sauntered down from her bedroom and gave Edith a shocked look as if surprised that she was there. "Hello," she said politely.
"Hi Penny, how are you?"
"Fine," she said quickly, then went to the kitchen.
"She's probably up there writing," Amy said in a low voice, "She can lose entire days doing it. I'm always reminding the little madam to eat when she gets so focused."
"Is she any good?" Edith loved reading her student's essays. Good or bad, they were always a great way to gauge their personalities. In her experience, Edith found that those with conditions like Penny's tended to communicate best non-verbally.
"Lord knows, I never get to read her work," Amy said with a shrug, "That girl is such a mystery. I honestly feel like I barely know her."
Edith wasn't an expert on people on the spectrum so she wasn't one to offer unfounded advice, but she did say. "Does she not show that she cares in her own special way?"
"Yeah, she does sometimes," Amy smiled as she spoke, "She leaves little notes around the house in the most random places, so whenever I find one, I can't help smiling."
"What do they say?"
"Mushy stuff like 'I love you mum' or 'Thanks for such and such," she chuckled to herself, "She also puts them in the fridge to say we're 'out of milk' or something." Edith laughed along with Amy. "She can be very witty." Penny walked past them quickly with a cup of orange juice and wordlessly ascended the stairs to her room. Hopefully, she wasn't embarrassed about them talking about her.
"Parker goes out on his bike a lot," Edith told Amy to change the subject, "Does he like to keep fit?"
"He takes his bike out to the countryside," Amy explained, "He loves nature, and I know he'll be careful, so I don't worry about him." Then Amy looked a little annoyed. "He won't tell me where he goes when I ask him. Both of them are so secretive nowadays."
"They're just getting older and more independent," Edith told her, "Every kid goes through this, but when they need you, they'll come to you. It just means they're growing up."
Every Saturday Edith liked to go to the supermarket on the edge of town to do her grocery shopping. As she was pulling into the parking lot, she spotted a familiar mop of black hair by the edge of a forest on the outskirts. It was Parker, and he was pushing his bike into the woods. Edith told herself to just let him be but her curiosity got the better of her and she followed behind him.
The sudden shift from a modernised landscape to the wild abundance of greens and browns of the forest was fast. If she didn't know that the industrial park was right behind her then Edith could have fooled herself into thinking she was surrounded by woodland for miles. The sounds of cars quickly faded to be replaced by the calls of animals and birds disturbed by the sudden human intrusion. Parker moved quickly through the woods and Edith almost lost him a few times. He never stopped to look around or behind him either. It was like he was walking with purpose and following a hidden trail only he knew about. He was pretty adept at walking in such uneven ground.
Fifteen minutes into the trek, she lost sight of him completely. Edith was about to give up looking when she spotted his backpack hanging from a dead tree branch. This small tree was easily noticeable in the small clearing it had once grown in. The sleeve of his favourite cream-coloured sweater was hanging out the top of it, and by the base of the tree trunk were his shoes with socks stuffed into them. Edith frowned as she looked at this strange scene.
It was a hot day so ditching his sweater and shoes wasn't exactly suspicious. He just had to watch out for broken glass. Still, why would he leave the bag behind? Curiosity won out, and she slowly reached for the backpack and carefully lifted it from the branch.
"Really, Edith, you're spying on the poor boy?" said a chastising voice in her head, "What next, a telescope aimed at his bedroom window?" Edith ignored her conscience and unzipped the bag then pulled the sweater out. Her eyes widened in shock at what she found inside.
Snap
A twig behind her had just broken. Edith quickly turned around only to come face to face with Parker.
Inside the bag were his clothes.
Parker himself was completely naked.