Betty walked in. She always managed to walk in at the least convenient of times. Always when he was under stress. Always when he was trying to forget certain memories. Always when that weird tummy issue showed up and he was horny.
Her smile just lit up the room. The man knew she was off limits. While they were both single at the time, it would be horrible bad form for him to date the bus driver that every single teen boy on the football team wanted to bang. Every guy on the soccer team wanted to dance with her. Every guy on the basketball team made passes at her. This cougar had it all.
The only teens who seemed to not like her were in the special needs program and part of the super gifted and talented. Something about these nerds just didn’t agree with her, yet, they were the ones who benefited the most from her kindness. Go figure.
Betty handed him an envelope and turned to leave. She had on those succulent tight white jeans that made his heart race furiously. If only she could just transfer to the other side of the district, he’d be free to take her for a ride of a life time. He’d make sure she rode the sweetest ride of her life.
Aware that there was no room in his pants to accommodate his growing desire, the principal turned his attention to the letter Betty had brought in. Not that she needed to hand deliver it, there was the super succulent sexy secretary that worked for the school. Never mind. He did not need to create any issue at work. He had a reputation to uphold.
He was the one principal most women wanted to work for. He was fair. He was equitable. He created a pleasant and safe working environment. As a result, the ratio of men to women was nearly dead even in his administration. The only thing he did arrange that most would have missed, except his star pupil, Bret, was that all the males were in serious relationships and all the women were available singles.
What did Bret know anyway. The kids was a genius who didn’t look like one. He fit in anywhere he wanted to. The man owned his air. But that was besides the point. Bret was too young to worry about the availability of these young beautiful… he had to stop looking at this from his vantage.
Looking at the envelope, finally, the principal nearly had a heart attack. Clutching his chest and unable to breathe, he saw what he most did not want to see.
The pain in his chest was really scaring him. His tummy had flipped and was ready to spill all of it’s content. With hands shaking, he pushed the envelope over into the trash can.
To any casual reader of the note inside the envelop, it would not have warranted the reaction from the principal it did. It was just a friendly thank you for participating in the festivities of the farm’s educational forum. It also had a small tiny insignificant request. Nothing any educator wouldn’t be happy to provide, especially with the choice of high performers he had.
The envelope had a white wooden ladder on the stamp. The principal was not aware that the sun was now beaming on the envelope, gleaming, as the wire mesh waste basket let the ladder shine happily.
to be continued
The full chaptered story coming up next…
When Ladders Traumatize was originally set to be a short story. At more than 14k words, it is not that short a short story… more like a Novellette. The coming chapters will follow in daily succession… for ease of consumption.
For your convenience:
Below are links to all the chapters… will auto populate the full story as it unfolds
Introducing When Ladders Traumatize - Introductions - Part 1
Zoe is a fierce competitive scholar.
Bret is happy go lucky smart guy
Somehow, their paths cross. Romance seem ready to bloom, but something goes horribly wrong.
Will Karma play a role? Will their competitive ways destroy romance before it even gets a chance?
When Ladders Traumatize Intro Part 2 - Introductions - Part 2
The school board and the principal have some tough choices to make for the coming year.
Betty seems to be the only one not stressed about what will be the fate of the principal's choices
When Ladders Traumatize Part 1 - Part 1 - The Story
Bret discovers that his top performance does not get him the top earned reward.
Zoe gets the gig he was after. Sure, he likes her and thinks she's pretty and all... but...
For now, he must get used to the fact he's going on a trip to a mud pit on a farm as a thank you for his hard work.
What was up with Bucking Betty though?
When Ladders Traumatize Part 2 - Part 2- The Story
Bret, looking for a cool place to escape the drudgery of the mud pit field trip.. finds a cool building with a sweet looking white ladder.
As friendly as the staff is, something is really bothering Bret.
His tummy rumbles, his thoughts grow weary. Something is off. But what...
The weird feeling is proving very distracting. There are so many beautiful women around... he nearly forgets he's attracted to Zoe
If only he could figure out what that weird feeling was...
When Ladders Traumatize Part 3 - Part 3 - The Story
The gals are teasing him. Bret is sure of this. Why would such beautiful women find him hot while he's in pain?
But man were they beautiful. And boy was he in pain.
Yet, that white ladder was messing with his head... drawing him... punishing him.
Bret felt he was going crazy in a sci-fi vortext.
Eventually Bret finds himself inside that mysterious loft.
There was a boy in there. The poor fella was scared to death. Also was helpful in getting him away from these overly sexed gals that were all over him on the ladder...
When Ladders Traumatize Part 4 - Part 4 - The Story
Something is really wrong. Badly wrong. That boy is not who he appears to be at all. Who is this boy?
Why are all the girls only after that mysterious teen in the loft?
Bret now needs to figure how to get out of that crawl space. Things are just getting too weird.
The pain though. The gals giggling. The boy talking.
That S.O.S message . Was it for him? Bret needed answers but he needed to escape more than anything.
Especially with this massive amount of pain wrecking his body, survival depended on his ability to escape. But how?
When Ladders Traumatize Part 5 - Part 5 - The Story
Just when Bret thinks his nightmare is over, it is not.
The boy-ish thing is following him everywhere. Popping up in the worse places.
Bret feels like he's fighting for his life while the girl is flirting mercilessly with him.
Is he losing his mind? And will he ever get out of this mess?
Will he ever get a chance to hold Zoe close again?
The reach of that boy-ish thing is hellbent on keeping him in agony, no matter how much Bret fights.
Worse, it's night time and everything seems a threat.
Epilogue of Ladders - Epilogue - When Ladders Traumatize
Bret, now older, discovers that Zoe has feelings...
But, what do these feelings mean?
Where does this White Ladder really fit into this story?
Will these questions get answered? More importantly, will Bret have his way with Zoe the way he's always fantasized?
Is this the end??
Shallows of the Deep 