All characters presented in this story are 18 years or older, even if not explicitly stated in the story.
Lily's friendships with her two best and really only friends, Mina and Raven, were more important to her than nearly anything else in her life. They had become friends in 1st grade, all of those years ago. In that time, Lily had grown very protective of her friends. Lily was always more confident and confrontational. She used those aspects of her personality whenever she felt people were taking advantage of Mina and Raven's kindness.
Now they were seniors in high school and thought they were hot shit. True, Lily, Mina, and Raven didn't really have any other friends, and none of them had any boyfriends. Lily went out on a date with a guy last year, but he declined a second date with her. Something about her not shutting up about her nerd crap. The guy was a loser anyway, the three friends told themselves. The three of them would get into the same college and attract all the dudes they could want there. High school guys just didn't get them.
It was lunch before their fifth-period math class with Mr. Dugger. As usual, the three of them were sitting together alone. They were in the middle of a rambunctious conversation about Sailor Moon and the Sailor Scouts. A common topic during their lunch.
"Jupiter could kick Mars and Mercury's ass, even if they teamed up. Read my fan fiction. It explains everything," Mina said to the other girls passionately. They, of course, had read said fan fiction many times.
"That's irrelevant. Mercury's kindness would stop the fight before it even began. I made an eighty-minute video on this exact topic on my YouTube channel," Raven practically yelled. Lily and Mina were the most active watchers of Raven's channel, typically the only ones. Sometimes, an odd viewer would find a video of hers and comment on how Raven's chest looked. This would invoke a very aggressive reply comment from Lily.
"Ladies, let's keep the volume down, please," a passing teacher told them.
"Sorry, we will," Mina said, which ended their latest anime-focused debate. With no obvious next topic, the three friends sat silently for a moment.
"You guys ready for math class," asked Lily, making small talk. Mina and Raven both perked up weirdly in reaction to this question.
"I've really been looking forward to math class all day. I wish it was earlier in the day," Mina replied.
Raven nodded in agreement. "I do, too, but then we would just complain all day after it was over about having to wait a whole other day for the next class." They both laughed at this comment.
Meanwhile, Lily was lost. "Since when do you two enjoy math class so much? It wasn't that long ago I caught you falling asleep in it, Mina."
"Okay, you got me. I really don't care about math. But Mr. Dugger is so handsome. He makes the class go by so fast," Mina said while her eyes looked into the distance at nothing in particular.
Lily laughed out loud at her jest. "That's a good one, Mina. Can you imagine someone actually thinking that about our math teacher?" But her laughter was joined by no one else at the table.
Lily's two friends gave her a dirty look before Raven spoke in agreement with Mina. "Have you noticed how strong his arms look? Can you imagine him shirtless? I think I would faint."
Lily looked hard to see signs of sarcasm from either of her friends but found none. What was causing Lily so much confusion was that their math teacher, Mr. Dugger, was fifty-five years old, mostly bald, and weighed over two hundred pounds. He had a goofy-looking face, too. He wasn't the most hideous guy at all, but no young girl in their mind would speak about him like her two friends were right now. "Are you guys talking about the same Mr. Dugger I am? You guys seriously think he's handsome and strong-looking?"
Both girls nodded their heads. "I mean, let's just admit it. The guy is hot. I know we shouldn't be talking about our teacher like this, but it's the truth," Raven said matter-of-factly.
"Do you think he's single?" Mina asked, keeping this weird conversation going.
"How could he be? But god, if he isn't, I'd be tempted to ask him out."
"I might even if he is taken!" The girls giggled at each other.
"Okay, you both have taken this joke way too far. Stop it now, please. You got me." Lily was still confident her friends were pulling a prank on her. They had never pulled any pranks in the past, but that had to be what this was.
"Lily, what is your problem? We didn't shame you when you had a crush on that jerk William, did we?" Raven's reply didn't really have much weight to it, thought Lily. William was over six feet tall, very toned, and had a strong chin. Also, he wasn't three times her age. It really wasn't the same thing as having a crush on Mr. Dugger.
However, Lily realized she should be more open-minded. Teenage girls, so she has been told, can go through phases where they find certain odd people attractive. No worries if her two friends had a weird crush on their teacher for a week or so. Soon, they would move on to talking about more age-appropriate boys. The bell rang and the group headed towards math class.
When they entered the class, Lily's two friends continued to exhibit odd behavior. "Hi... Mr Dugger. I think that shirt looks really good on you," Mina said, blushing bright red before dashing off to her desk.
"I just want to say I think your eyes are really sparkling today," Raven said almost equally as bashful. Lily felt so much embarrassment for her friends and for Mr. Dugger. But Mr. Dugger didn't respond as she had expected.
"Thank you, Mina and Raven, for the compliments. You two bring such beauty to my classroom. I look forward to the sights of both of your young bodies every day." Lily stood in front of the classroom, breaking down what had just happened in her head. Mr. Dugger spoke with such confidence. He usually speaks cautiously and professionally with students. She had heard rumors that in the past, he was accused of talking too 'familiarly' with a female student, and ever since he kept students at a metaphorical distance. But what shocked Lily the most was the comment about Raven and Mina's 'young bodies.'
"Mr. Dugger, don't ever talk about my friend's bodies again." Lily knew she was being cold and confrontational with her comment. Still, she wanted to stop whatever was happening here well before it developed into something truly bad.