As Jennifer followed after Ms. Polluck, she tried to keep her focus away from the headmistress's bouncing backside and pay attention to her new home and business for the foreseeable future. The interior was just as austere as the exterior, but much more warm and inviting--no doubt to help the girls with their studies. It felt like walking into a refurbished mansion from another era: the walls looked like they were from the turn of the 20th century, the carpeting in the entrance had a retro-70s appeal, and when the neophyte stole a glance into a nearby classroom, she saw rows of modern desks and a state of the art computer. She was so impressed by what she saw, the brunette almost ran into her new employer, who had stopped dead in her tracks.
"S-Sorry, Ms. Polluck," Jennifer quickly apologized, feeling as meek as a student in the face of the headmistress.
"Oh, that's quite all right, my dear," the blonde woman replied, waving off the apology with a grin. "And please, call me 'Shannon'--you're going to make me feel old!"
"Sure thing, Ms. Po--I mean, Shannon," the young woman chuckled bashfully. "Sorry...I'm just so excited, nervous, antsy..."
The matronly Shannon tittered with laughter, which made her belly bounce in the confines of her chic jacket and blouse. "I know the feeling rather well, Jennifer; I felt the same way when I took over as head of the academy. Your nerves will calm in time after you've grown into your new role and spent some time in your classroom."
"Actually, I had a question about that," the young teacher admitted. "When we spoke over the phone last, you mentioned that I would be heading up Culinary Arts 1, and maybe some other classes?"
Her blonde boss nodded, soft cheeks bunching up into a fair double chin, and answered, "Indeed. Since you specialized in general education, I wanted you to try some other courses just to see where you might be the best fit, and Culinary Arts will be a nice, healthy medium between all the other subjects."
The answer did little to assuage Jennifer's nerves, and Shannon picked up on that immediately. She gestured to the steps leading up the building and asked, "Why don't we continue this in my office? It will be nice to finally speak face to face with my eager new-bee, and I imagine that you must be famished after driving all this distance."
Truth be told, the weary traveler was feeling rather hungry. She had stopped earlier in the day for a sandwich to go, but after powering through the last couple hundred miles, her stomach was rumbling as loud as the thunder outside. After another grumble of discontent from her trim tummy, the neophyte teacher nodded and replied, "That sounds great, Shannon."
"Splendid! My office is up near the top," the headmistress explained as she waddled her way to the stairs, thick thighs rubbing against each other like scrubbers at a car wash. "Right this way."
Try as she might, there was no way Jennifer could ignore her boss's bulbous backside this time around. Each cheek had to be as big as a basketball, and the two combined were as wide as a king-size pillow. The way they bounced was hypnotic to the bleary-eyed brunette, who felt her feet getting heavier to lift and her eyes struggling to stay open. She let out a terrific yawn as they passed through the third floor, which earned another titter of laughter from Shannon, who, despite climbing the same stairs as her charge and being well over twice Jennifer's weight, looked and felt no worse for the wear.
"Perhaps we'll take the elevator next time," the hefty headmistress said to her sleepy companion. "They're really only supposed to be for Student Special Services, but I know some of the other teachers use it now and then. Feel free to use it whenever you'd like!"
"Thanks, Shannon," Jennifer sleepily replied. At that moment, she wished nothing more than to hop in the elevator and take the last two floors via the lift, but she wanted to power through; even with her boss's permission, she did not want to abuse her elevator privileges immediately.
After much struggle and determination on her part, the brunette made it to the fifth floor, though the last few steps were a struggle. Jennifer was amazed at how Shannon did not have a hair out of place after hiking up the steps, but she supposed that the blonde managed these steps all the time. What made it even worse was that her stomach was roaring like a lion by the end, as if she had not eaten in days. Again, her fingers went to her soft, flat stomach and tried in vain to settle her hungry tummy.
"Sounds like you worked up an appetite," the woman with the bulbous bouffant remarked as they made their way into her office. "I'll have Tatia bring us some food right away!"
"No rush," the new teacher mumbled as she stumbled into the office and plunked herself down in one of the chairs by Shannon's desk.
While she settled into the comfy, plush cushions of the seat, her blubbery boss waddled over to an antique icebox and retrieved a bottle from a bucket of ice. As the blonde rejoined her companion, she told Jennifer, "I was planning to save this for your welcoming party, but I think we can celebrate a little early, don't you?"
A welcoming party? That sounded quite nice to the exhausted brunette. When she had accepted the position, she had no idea she would be receiving the red carpet treatment almost out of the gate; Sarah was going to be so jealous. Jennifer smiled lazily and replied, "That sounds great."
After retrieving two glasses and popping the cork, the two women daintily sipped on the bubbly champagne. Not much of a drinker and definitely not a connoisseur, Jennifer was not able to dissect the flavors that danced around her mouth--she just knew that it was good, whatever it was. Shannon savored the taste as well, and asked her new hire, "What do you think, my dear?"
"It's really good," the neophyte answered, licking her lips of the sweet taste. "What is it?"
"It's a limited edition, ten-year-old bottle of Brut Rose. I find it to be very bittersweet, like fruit dipped in dark chocolate," the headmistress explained with a sly grin. "It's like having dessert in a glass."
Jennifer hummed at the mention of dessert. "Mmm...I could go for some dessert after the day I've had."
"I'm sure that can be arranged, Jennifer," Shannon replied, that same grin spreading from cheek to dimpled cheek. "Vivia should be here in just a moment."
As if on cue, the doors to the office swung open and in walked a stout Italian woman who looked to be as wide as she was tall. Her dark hair was tied back into a bun, though a few locks escaped and framed her round face, and she wore a modest ensemble that clung to every corpulent curve on her body. Shannon Polluck was not a thin woman by any stretch of the imagination, but this woman made her look like Twiggy.
"So sorry for the wait, signore," the rotund woman panted as she rolled a cart over to the women. "I am not so fast as I used to be."
"That's quite all right, Vivia," Shannon purred as the bulbous attendant waddled over. Jennifer was not sure, but she swore she saw the headmistress stroke one of the love handles that were barely contained by Vivia's chef shirt. "You know how much I appreciate everything you do around here."
The Italian woman blushed a tomato red and lifted a cover off the cart, revealing an assortment of covered dishes. Even with the covers still on them, Jennifer could smell the delectable aromas underneath--whatever had been prepared smelled absolutely delicious, and in her sleep-deprived state, the new teacher actually drooled a bit before snapping to and wiping her lips. She hoped that her boss had not seen it, but Shannon was more focused on the dishes than her drowsy guest...or so Jennifer thought. In actuality, seeing the brunette hungry enough to drool like Pavlov's dog sent shivers down the headmistress's gelatinous body, and it took all her effort to not squirm in her seat.
As Vivia set out trays that connected to the arms of their chairs, Shannon explained to Jennifer, "I wasn't sure what you'd like to have for your first taste of Buttercombe, so I decided to have our top chef and head of the Culinary Department, make up some of her finest."
"If it's all as good as it smells, I'm sure I'll love it," Jennifer murmured in reply, though her attention was more on the covered dish in front of her. When Vivia pulled away the cloche, her eyes went wide at the sight of an entire breast of Nashville hot chicken, a thick slab of corn bread, and coleslaw that was more mayo than cabbage. It was the densest plate of food she had ever seen: it felt like something restaurants put together as a novelty, yet here it was, served up like fine dining.
"My, but Eri does great work," Shannon hummed contentedly as she sampled from own plate. "Go on, Jennifer--wouldn't want it to get cold, after all."
Realizing that she was gawking rather than eating, Jennifer picked up her utensils and carved off a bite of chicken. The moment it touched her taste buds, she almost moaned in delight; it was the best fried chicken she ever had in her life. What started as one bite became another, followed by another, and then she attacked the cornbread and coleslaw in equal fashion. All while Vivia refilled her champagne and Shannon watched on like a cat does a mouse...
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