"Hmmm..." said the young, blond teacher, putting her hand to her chin, pretending to be deep in thought.
She was standing in front of a crude painting of a man holding a football, and Tyler Carlson stood nervously to the side. He was close to passing, and if Miss Uden was merciful, then he would earn his credit and stay on the football team.
Miss Uden's flashing green eyes turned to Tyler, her lip slightly curled up into a sneer. His heart sank: he saw no mercy there.
"I see no inspiration. No talent. No understanding of the principles we've been learning about all semester." She said in a cruel voice. Tyler heard giggles from the girls and arty guys that filled the rest of the class. They loved to see their school's quarterback get knocked down a peg.
"Well, class, what grade do we think that this masterpiece deserves?" Asked Miss Uden with a sweep of her arms. She was wearing one of her usual baggy, flowing sweaters, which added extra dramatic flair to her arm movements.
The class erupted in boos, making a flush of anger creep into Tyler's cheeks.
"Well, Tyler," said Miss Uden smugly, her beautiful, delicate face twisted into a gloating smile, "It looks like the class has spoken." She grabbed a thick red marker from her desk and walked to the painting, uncapping the marker and drawing a fat "F" across it, ruining the artwork.
"Better luck next semester." She said tauntingly, walking with a sway of her hips back to her desk and sitting in triumph.
Tyler swore then and there that he would get his revenge on Miss Uden for this public humiliation if it was the last thing he did.
...
Faria finished counting the money and leaned back in her chair.
"Why don't you tell me a little bit more about the situation." She said, rolling her shoulders and stretching her long, shapely neck. It had been a late night last night, finishing up a job for her last client, and she was a little tired and sore.
The young man in front of her scowled. "I paid you the money, right? Shouldn't that be enough?"
Faria sighed and shook her head, tapping well manicured nails on the shining hardwood desk. "Mr.... Carlson, was it? My gifts are highly in demand. I only take cases that... interest me on a personal level. I thought yours sounded promising, but I can still walk away at this point. And I will, honey, if you don't give me the details I asked for."
The square-jawed young man across the desk from her rolled his eyes, but launched into his explanation. "I'm paying for you to use your...techniques on Lily Uden."
"And what is your relationship to this woman?"
"She teaches art at my school. I had her last semester."
Faria chuckled. Another senior who was a little too hot for teacher. It wasn't the first time she had seen it in her client requests. "And why do you feel you need revenge on Miss Uden?" She drawled lazily. The sullen Mr. Carlson was correct, he had already sent this information to Faria when he made his request, but hearing it in person was an important part of the decision process.
"She has some sort of grudge against people who play sports." Carlson snapped irritably, "she purposefully set me up to fail her class so that I would get kicked off the football team."
Faria clicked her tongue. "A very bad teacher, then."
"Exactly."
"But that's not the whole story," said Faria, leaning across her desk and with a teasing smile, "You don't pay ten thousand dollars to someone like me to correct a bad grade. There's an element of..." Faria's mouth quirked up into a mocking sneer, "...Lust here, isn't there, Mr. Carlson?"
Carlson blushed red and looked away. Awww, he's embarrassed, thought Faria. Well, he ought to be if he truly desires my services. Carlson shrugged. "Yeah, I mean, she's hot, ok?"
"Show me." Faria always asked her clients to bring a photo of their requested person. She found that the choice of photo often revealed as much about the client as the target.
Carlson avoided her eyes, silently navigating to a picture on his phone and passing it across the desk.
A cute young woman stuck her tongue out at the camera between her smiling teeth, an arm thrown over her shoulder, indicating that this had been cut from a larger group photo. Her delicate, almost elfin features combined with the expression to give a mischievous, flirty vibe to the picture. Her thick honey-blond hair hung braided over her shoulder, and was held back with a kerchief. It was a candid beach photo, and Faria immediately saw why it had grabbed the young man's attention. Lily Uden had some of the most magnificent breasts that Faria had ever seen, and she had seen quite a few. They were massive, but also looked firm and well shaped. In the picture, Miss Uden was wearing a dark green bikini that would have normally been quite modest. Unfortunately for her, whoever had thrown their arm over her shoulder had skewed her bikini top just enough to reveal the barest sliver of pink areola sneaking past the edge of the dark green material. The combination of innocence and sexiness in the photo was enough to send any man wild. Or any woman of a certain inclination.
"One of her friends posted it on Instagram, and one of the boys found it before it got taken down," explained Tyler sheepishly.
Faria handed his phone back. She thought for a moment. The request certainly seemed to fit her criteria. The scenario excited her, which was obviously the most important factor. She also required that the target had genuinely wronged the client. That would take a little more research. The last criteria was critical as well. She had to see that the client was truly passionate about their dark desire for the target.
"And what is it you want me to do, Mr. Carlson?" She asked in a formal tone.
