“Your mouth is the most beautiful part of you to me, Miss Waters. It was partly a pleasant surprise to be trading the suspension for the opportunity to go inside it.”

“So is this the main appeal for you, to go inside my mouth?”

“Yes, Miss Waters.”

“I find that strangely encouraging. But you do realise that I’ll enjoy it much more than you. I’m going to gobble you down my throat. You might even enjoy that.”

“I think, in a way, I will enjoy that part of it too.”

“But soon after that, it will all be over for you, Milo. But I will continue as a teacher in this school and a long living woman for all those decades after you’re gone. Knowing that is a part of the treat you will be, young boy. It’s a very real part of being eaten. I was pleased that you stayed awake in bed thinking about it. Being my student isn’t going to save you, Milo.”

“I don’t see how you could smuggle any kind of machine into this school to shrink me with. There are always so many people around.”

“There could be other ways to shrink a boy, Milo. You’ll have to wait and see. Sorry if I’m upsetting you by going on asking about this, but what is it about my mouth, that you find so beautiful? You’ll only have one chance to kiss me on the lips.”

“Your lips are beautiful, Miss Waters, but your tongue is even more beautiful, and I’ll certainly have the chance for my whole body to touch that, after it’s been reduced.”

He realised he was talking about this, as though he’d been convinced it was possible. That had still to be proven, as far as he was concerned.

“So you like looking at a lady’s tongue. Have there been other ladies whose tongues have caught your attention?”

“There was a teacher at my prep school. She was very pretty, but not as beautiful as you. Are you just looking forward to surviving this in a lasting way, with me not doing so, or would you like the actual process of eating me too?”

She looked around. There was nobody in the hallway. She closed the classroom door and licked his cheek. Then she took his fingers and sucked on them.

“Does that answer your question? You’ll taste marvellous. I can’t wait for the satisfying succulent meal you shall be for me. I’ll enjoy feeling your reduced young meat resting on my tongue. Our age difference means a lot to me too. I wouldn’t want to do this with an adult man. You’re only 11. The thought of making a delicious meal out of someone who has only lived a fraction of the time I have is a definite element of the eager anticipation that’s been building in my mind. I do have a code of honour though. I shall keep my word on not eating you before the holidays. Besides, I like these personal conversations that give me a measure of your responses to this situation. You might as well spend any waking hours in bed thinking about me doing this, because by the beginning of next term, you won’t be my student here anymore. We’ll have a much closer connection by the time it happens, if we interact verbally to a great extent first. I believe dialog is at least as paramount to eating someone as deeds are. Make the most of it yourself, enjoying a good thing while it lasts, as they say.”