Sure, that's true, but I was genuinely asking because it is strange for someone who was in a position of power over a teenager to later date that teenager as an adult, I figured you could probably achieve that same age gap in a less weird way by having them be in college.
Like I said, the story is meant to be a little scandalous. The story is told from Arthur's POV and he had a lot of guilt and neuroses about getting so close to a former student which makes up the emotional core of the story. The age gap being as substantial as it is was a deliberate writing decision, and I would like to think I handled the subject with a degree of nuance and tact. Of course, you are free to disagree 🙏