The New Principal Ch 11

I came back to hazy consciousness gradually as I looked down to see the aftermath of our lovemaking. I was on my back and Veronica was on my right, with one arm draped over my chest. She was gloriously nude, a lithe goddess, clinging to me. Her hair was tousled all over, covering her face with strands over my chest. I could feel her body touching me all the way down to her foot that was pulled up on my leg. And her smell was incredible. Her sexual musk still hung in the air, but I could also smell something else that was natural to her, something in her hair maybe? It seemed to resonate in my mind, comforting and just right.

I lazily brushed her hair away from her face so I could study her more. As I pushed the hair back behind her ear though, she started rustling. She kept her eyes closed, but she made a delightful little purring noise and writhed her body against me. Her right hand rubbed across my chest then stopped. Eyes still closed, she closed her fist, grabbing tight onto a handful of my chest hair.

"This is new." She plucked a hair.

"Ouch."

She poked at my chest with her finger.

"That is also new."

She tilted her head up and opened one eye just a slit as if she were afraid of what she was going to see.

"Hi there." I smiled.

"Hi." Her eyes opened and she smiled the most beautiful embarrassed smile, and her left hand flailed around to find a sheet to pull up over her body. Finding one, she pulled it up over her chest, then higher, over her mouth, and then all the way over her head.

"That's hardly fair." I reached over and tugged the sheet down to show her eyes. "I was enjoying the view."

She looked at me, clearly trying to figure out how to handle this situation.

I leaned down to kiss her on her forehead. Then I pulled the sheet down past her nose and kissed her nose.

She giggled a little bit.

"Should I go further?"

I could see the smile from the way her eyes crinkled up. After a brief pause, she nodded.

I pulled the sheet down past her chin, and I looked at those sensual lips. She closed her eyes, and I leaned down and kissed her chin.

She laughed again, this time a full deep laugh. "A little higher there, bullseye boy." Her eyes opened again and sparkled in delight.

"Why don't you help me out here?"

She looked at me for a second, then she let go of the sheet and put her hands on my shoulders as she crawled up on top of me. She looked me dead in the eye and lowered her mouth to mine.

We kissed long and slow. My hands explored her silky smooth back without urgency, occasionally drifting low enough to slide over her butt.

Far too quickly, she pulled back and sat up on my belly. She arranged the sheet around her in a wrap, then with a dramatic flourish, she tossed the end over her shoulder. She looked like a toga-clad goddess.

"Oh, my Aphrodite, what would you have of me?" I gazed up at her in adoration, and she smiled quickly before assuming a condescending gaze, proper to a goddess toward her supplicant.

"What would I have of you? Well, I think I've already had of you." Her eyebrow arched high. She spoke in regal tones, "Ben Lee, I, your goddess, have a demand of you."

"Command me, my divine beauty."

Her royal posture drooped a bit and her gaze softened.

"Ben, this was really incredible. In so many ways, it was incredible. I mean, I can still feel..." She shook off the thought. "I need to figure things out. But I want to make sure we're straight here. I've got no regrets on my end at all. I'm so happy that I got to pounce on you. I can't tell you how much I needed that, but I don't... I mean, I'm not like that. I'm not looking for a relationship, I'm not even sure I can do relationships... You seem like a great guy, but I don't know anything about you. I just need a little space. God, that sounds like I'm such a bitch..."

"No, no, no..." I interrupted. "You're right, this was incredible, but it was like a force of nature. We were both out of control. I'm glad though. I'm so glad you pounced me too." This got a nice smile from her. "But I totally understand."

"I may actually be a bitch though."

"I doubt that, but hey, maybe it's not bad to be a bitch."

She considered that for a second, then regained her regal posture, sitting up straight on my stomach.

"Your goddess has a command."

"Anything."

She grinned slightly at the thought.

"Leave me. Return to your job. I will consider your request for aid."

She hopped off me and stood to the side of the bed, watching to see how I would react.

I slid off and stood up in front of her.

"I'm sorry, I'd never forgive myself if I didn't do this when I have the opportunity." I moved to her and reached my arms around her waist, pulling her tight to me. I leaned in and she tilted her head in anticipation of the kiss. I kissed her with just a hint of passion, and I felt her arms wrap around me and squeeze me into her.

I pulled back and looked her in the eyes, searching for any trouble to come. The main feeling was a whole-body warmth and contentment. The lust that had been taking over her entire mind before was still there and still very prominent, but it only occupied a portion of her mind now. She was happy and comfortable, but very conflicted about those feelings. She was anxious about today, and doubly anxious about me, but on the whole, she was regular woman basking in a lovely freshly-fucked glow.

"You really look the part, Aphrodite. You really rock a toga."

I gave her another kiss, this time on the forehead, and then lost any dignity I might have possibly shown by stooping to scrounge around on the ground for my clothes. She stood still, watching my antics with the occasional giggle and even a gentle kick to the tush as I knelt down to dig a shoe out from underneath the bed.

I looked a hot mess as I left her house, everything wrinkled and more than a couple stains on my shirt that I wouldn't be able to explain easily. But I was wearing an ear-to-ear smile.

I checked my phone as I left to discover that it was already past six. Kimberly had sent me an email to let me know that she was going home, but that she left a couple important proposals on my desk for my approval. She noted they were "paper only - no digital files" which seemed a bit odd, but it was the PS that truly gave me pause: "Long meeting with Veronica? Hope that is good news!!" I know it's dangerous to read too much into emails, but I didn't think Kimberly was one to use exclamation points in work emails.

Surely, she couldn't suspect anything?

Since it was only a few minutes away, I walked past the Green House and over to my office. The papers Kimberly had left me were just approvals for some of the renovations. I okayed the dormitory work that she had been so happy about. There were still some design choices to make, but I was happily surprised at the cost estimate.

The second one was a combination estimate for the pool and the athletics center. It turned out that reopening the pool was going to be fairly simple and not too expensive. The athletics center was going to need more work: locker room upgrades, returfing, and buying new gear to support all the Olympic sports. We couldn't make do with second-rate javelins, could we? It was a bit expensive, but it basically seemed in line with what I had expected, so I flipped to the approval page. I was going to sign, but there was a sticky note covering the signature blank. It read, "Talk about this tomorrow. -K"

Well, ok, fair enough. That could wait.

Finally, there were a couple of approvals to release funds for purchases. One was for a big spend on new computers for the library and teacher's lounge, and the other was to get the money ready for the advertising campaign. I signed the first without hesitation, but the second one I wasn't so sure about. If things went well, Veronica would be in charge of that, and I wanted her to have full autonomy. In the end, it looked like this would just make the funds available without restrictions, so I ended up signing that one too.

I put all the paperwork in a secure folder and addressed it to the bursar.

There were still a few things I needed to get up to speed on, so I nestled down in the big chair and got to reading. By the time I went home, I felt like I finally had a fair grasp of the way the school worked. Again, I was struck by how odd Bright Hall was, but also at the potential it had. With some slight adjustments, we could really do great things here. If we were going to make some big changes, it would be best to start soon. Shaking up the system would be a good thing.

The next morning, I woke up early and full of energy. I suppose that post-sex nap was good for me. My foot felt fine, so I figured I'd try another short run. I was disappointed that this time I didn't meet anyone on the trails, but perhaps that was for the best. I had time for a shower and breakfast, and even got to the office a bit early.

Not earlier than Kimberly, of course.

She was in her office, and seemed locked into her monitor. I called out, so I wouldn't be sneaking up on her.

"'Morning, Kimberly!"

"Oh! Hello, Principal Lee! How did things go with Veronica yesterday?"

I tried not to spend to much thought on reading the tone of her question.

"Really well, I think. Gimme a sec to get situated and we can have a morning strategy session."

"Yes, sir!"

I got into my office and started to do a little triage on the day's tasks. Today looked like a light day, but I knew the next weeks would be more about responding to crises than careful planning running smoothly. I was going through some advertising ideas when Kimberly poked her head in the doorway.

"Are you ready, boss?"

"Yeah, c'mon in, grab a seat." My office was still a bad space for meetings. The easy way was for me to sit behind the gargantuan desk in the gargantuan chair and look down on the other people from above like the Wizard of Oz. The other option was for me to get out from behind the desk and sit in one of the visitors' chairs and share the little tea table.

I opted for the tea table. I needed to work on making sure Kimberly felt like a major part of the decision-making here, and that desk wasn't helping.

We both got awkwardly situated, and a quick glance at her, no trick required, showed me that her curiosity about my meeting with Veronica was at the top of her mind.

"So?"

"Like I said, I think the meeting went well. I gave her the pitch for what we would like her to take care of, and she's thinking it over. You are right when you said she's hard to read. It seemed like she reacted well, but it's hard to tell. Anyway, she said she'd let us know. Do you think you could do a follow-up call with her this afternoon?"

"No problem."

I was taking pleasure in watching her inner struggle. She had been here long enough to enjoy the small town gossip. She clearly wanted more details, but didn't think it was her place to ask more questions. She had mentioned that Veronica has some rumors surrounding her. Now I wondered what those rumors were.

"Right..." She looked down to her screen and typed out a note. "I'll call her today and see if I can get a timeline on her decision. How flexible do you want to be with her?"

I bit my tongue, because I had strong opinions about Veronica and flexibility. "I think we need an answer very soon. If she's going to be leading the ad campaign, that needs to start getting off the ground by next Monday so we can see at least some effect through the summer term. Feel free to lean on her a bit." Again, I had to restrain myself from thinking too much about my dream memories of exactly how I'd seen Kimberly leaning on Veronica.

"Ok, will do. Actually, there is one thing that I wanted to run by you... well, it was Jennifer's idea. I think it's a great idea, but it will impact the gym renovations and the advertising, and, well... everything. I want her to be the one to propose it. She said she would be today."

"So, she's coming by? When did all this happen?"

"She came by yesterday afternoon while you were over at Veronica's." The southern twang came back into her voice, as her curiosity rose to the surface. But with a feat of self-control, she moved on smoothly. "I explained a little bit about our current situation, and she seemed to get really worried about the school. We had a good long conversation. She agreed to come back right on the spot. If you're still willing, we can sign her paperwork today."

"That's great news! Having her on board will hopefully make things a good deal easier. And she's coming by this today?"

"Yes, she'll be here in a couple of hours. Probably around noon or so. Most of the things we need to talk about will need to wait for her proposal, so we're at a bit of a block there. There is something else, sort of work-related, but really important, that we need to take care of in the meantime."

"Alright, I'm game. What's up?"

"Well, I think it would be a good idea to do a little PR tour. The exams are scheduled for today and tomorrow. In fact, the first round will be starting soon. So I thought it would be good for us to go out to the campus café and sit for a while and let the student body gawk at the new principal."

"Huh? I'm not sure I follow."

"Everyone knows that you're here. They've all heard about your morning runs and your early nights and all sorts things about you, but it's mostly hearsay at this point. We need to make sure you are seen as approachable and friendly. Someone who isn't going to be handing out demerits willy nilly."

"Willy nilly?"

She ignored my teasing. "So, thirsty?"

"I'm not sure I'm comfortable about being sure a subject of gossip, and how do people know when I'm going to sleep?"

As I whined, I stood up and slung my jacket on. It was getting a little warm for it, but I knew I didn't want to appear even a little bit sloppy. Had to keep up appearances as a stodgy old coot.

No surprise, but again, Kimberly's idea was a good one. If I was going to be making big changes around here, I could use all the support and good will I could muster.

Kimberly led me out and closed the door behind us, and we started on our way to the café. It was a pretty ratty place at the side of that ugly cafeteria. There was just an awning and a few tables. I thought again about how the cafeteria was low priority for renovations and wished that wasn't the case.

"The best thing is just to assume everyone knows all of your dirt. That way you'll never be surprised when anyone mentions something. Also, if you assume you're being watched all the time, you'll never do anything you wouldn't want people to know about. I personally overheard one of the students making comments about your style in running gear."

"Can't a guy have any secrets? And my running gear is fine."

I did wonder about Kimberly's opinion about being watched all the time, considering that webcam feed I watched on my first night here.

As we walked across campus, I finally got my first look at the students. They looked nearly identical in their uniforms. Green jackets, white shirts, and long dark skirts for the women and dark trousers for the men. You could mark some of them by height or hair color, but that was about it. The long skirts hid hips and legs, and the bulky jackets reduced all but the most gifted women to anonymous and nearly androgynous sheets of fabric. The men just looked like your standard dude-bros at a country club. They might as well be wearing those straw boater hats.

We got our coffees and sat down to watch the flow of humanity.

"The uniforms are really bad."

"Oh, they aren't. Like I said, it's a unity thing."

"No, I mean, the idea of the uniforms, I think I can see the good of that, but they're just badly made. Doesn't anyone tailor them? Nobody looks like they are wearing clothes that fit."

As if on cue, a group of women walked by, led by a short but incredibly busty student. It looked like her jacket was being torn apart, and she couldn't have been comfortable.

Kimberly saw where my eyes were aimed and she actually chuckled

"Ah, that's Louise. She... yeah. Her jacket is a problem. The regulations say that you can't tailor the uniform or make your own, that way everyone is on the same level field. If the uniforms don't fit quite so well, at least you know that it's the same for everyone."

"But it's not such a problem for some girls. For some of them, it ends up looking almost stylish. Who sells the uniforms?"

"Downtown, there's... Ah. Well that is interesting. I hadn't thought about that. There is only one store that sells the official uniform..."

"Ah, well, there you go. Ten-to-one, the owner of that store struck a deal with the school ages ago. The school says students have to buy their uniforms there and somebody probably got a kickback somewhere. As long as we don't allow them to tailor them or make their own, the store wins big."

I was just talking out my ideas, but based on Kimberly's reaction, I has struck some kind of truth.

"You may have something there..."

"Right? The owner of the store is the old principal's... what? Cousin? Brother-in-law? Secret lover?"

Kimberly nearly choked at that last bit. "No, nothing like that, but I think I could see how things might have been working."

"So, what if you call the store and tell them we're looking at dropping the uniforms entirely. Then when they push back, you could say that the other option would be to keep the uniforms, but allow students to buy from anywhere they like. Maybe they could be convinced to provide alteration service at a low cost? They would still end up with basically all of the sales, and we would get students much more comfortable in their clothes. What do you think?"

She was really only half listening, but obviously gotten the gist of what I was getting at. "Yeah... I think we might be able to pull off sumptin' like that..."

She was more aware and much smarter than I was about these things. I'd let her handle this her way. I smiled and let her think things through while I looked back out over the campus.

The view really was spectacular. With our backs to the ugly cafeteria, all of the buildings looked beautiful. There were old lamps lining the paving stone pathways. The trees and grass were a vivid green and the students were bustling around with nervous purpose.

Even though we weren't technically a college, the scene was exactly that. It had been a long time since I had spent a good amount of time on a campus rather than a high school, and I had forgotten how wonderful it was to just sit back and watch young folks going about their business. Such a wonderful energy to be a part of.

While I was lost in my reverie, a squad of girls came up to our table and stood, nearly at attention, waiting for one of us to acknowledge them.

Kimberly noticed them first.

"Oh, girls, sorry, I didn't see you come up. How are you all?"

One girl in front seemed to be squad leader, elected to speak for the group.

"Ms. Adams. We... um... we wanted to ask..."

"Oh, girls, this is Principal Lee. He just got here this week, so don't go bothering him with all your troubles."

"Ah, Hello, Principal Lee. I... uh, we..."

Another girl took over for her flailing partner.

"Principal Lee, we just really want to know what's happening for summer term. We know all the teachers left. People are saying that you are going to shut the whole school down and turn it into some kind of vacation hotel. There's a girl on my floor who says she's getting kicked out Friday after exams so they can turn her room into a sauna!"

Kimberly almost stood up, and I could tell she was going to give them a dressing down. I cut her off as quickly as I could without being too rude.

"Girls, you should know better than to listen to rumors. We haven't been the best at messaging, but I can tell you that we are not closing down. We will have a summer term, although it might start a week or two later than usual. We are not becoming a hotel. When you go into your exams today, you will see that almost all of the teachers have come back, and we're even bringing in some folks who left a while back."