The Bad Boy ✔

Chapter Thirty-Stalker much?

Chapter Thirty

Dad had this brilliant plan. Well, to be honest, it was brilliant in his mind. After the way I reacted to the news of him and Davis hooking up, he decided that he needed to prove to me that I was being utterly ridiculous about the whole thing. But I don’t think he realised just how weird it was for me. Having your parent dating your Maths teacher-especially Maths-was more horrible than a nightmare.

So Dad did what he did best, he invited Davis to have supper with us. And for once, it was not a takeaway. Which either meant that he really liked her, or that he just wanted to impress her. Both ideas still made me feel a little sick. I mean, it wasn’t that I hated the idea of Dad dating someone. It was bound to happen eventually. It’s just that dating my Maths teacher made it seem like something out of a bad porno.

To top it all off, Dad had made me dress up into something more decent than pyjamas. Not that I see the point. The way Davis dressed to school was something out of the hippie era, and it wasn’t pretty. All of those long, flowing skirts and her weird makeup. It sort of made me feel a bit better about my style.

Which I suppose made me a really mean person. Great, Dad was dating my Maths teacher and I was turning into the next Bethany. Maybe next, the world would be plagued by aliens and then I’d be abducted to be experimented on. All in all, it sounded a lot better than sitting down to a table, eating roast chicken with my father and teacher.

When Mrs Davis-emphasis on the Mrs-arrived, I was the one who had to answer the door. Between you and me, I took a really, really long time to open it. It was more dread that she would talk to me like we were long-lost pals instead of the hated student-teacher relationship we had going on. What can I say? Being sucky at Maths doesn’t exactly make you the teacher’s pet.

Davis was dressed relatively normal. Which was saying something.

“Hello Marilyn,” she greeted. “You’re looking lovely today.”

I smiled half-heartedly. “Thanks,” I mumbled. A silence filled the gap before I added, “Uh, you look nice too.”

She beamed at me, and I inwardly crawled into a ball and started screaming. It was odd seeing Davis smile at me in a non-teacher sort of way. Almost as weird as inviting her in, and watching my father greet her with a kiss on the cheek. Talk about teens in love. I mumbled about needing to check on Juno, before I escaped Davis’ small-talk and hid out in my room.

I was really beginning to worry that my father was going to come after me, especially with the stern look he sent me, but after a few minutes, no one came and I breathed a sigh of relief. I could hear them talking happily from the kitchen, and I felt a slight pang in my chest. It was stupid, I know, but it almost felt like my father was replacing me with Davis, who he hardly knew until now.

And what about Mum? Had he forgotten about her too? She had been his first love, and yet, he seemed to now settle for someone nothing like her. I rubbed my face. My reflection in my mirror revealed the angst I was feeling. In true rebellion, I stuck my tongue out at myself then almost slapped myself for the absurdity. Dad was right. I was being ridiculous.

Gathering up courage, I stepped back to the dining room. Dad was in the kitchen, I could hear the sounds of cutlery clashing around. But Davis-all smiling and warm-sat on a bar stool. But what took me aback was the fact that a certain, fat ball of fur was plopped on her lap and purring. It seemed that even Juno had taken a liking to my Maths teacher.

“You have such a sweet cat,” Mrs Davis cooed. She smoothed her fingers over Juno’s head.

I snorted, “Tell that to Jace. She attacked him the first time they met.”