Not The Teacher's Pet

23. Truth or Dare

As the teachers left one by one, Ruby felt relieved.

They were many questions as to why she had come for extra classes when it was already very late outside but Mr.Hayes had answered most of the tricky ones for her.

He told them that she lived close by. Even if she stayed late, her parents would always come around to pick her up. Ruby also explained that she couldn't do mornings 'cause of her part-time job at the library.

Nobody found anything suspicious and Ruby collapsed on the couch after her teachers had left. The house was finally empty and peaceful.

"That was so scary"

"You need to get a phone" Hayes muttered while grabbing the empty wine glasses from the table, "They called me in the afternoon saying everyone from the highschool section was arriving for a surprise visit. If you had a cell, I could have called you" He tossed her the keys to her room, "Don't leave your books on the couch or on the table once you're done with them. I had a hard time putting everything away"

She hopped off the couch to taste the red wine on the table, "I can't imagine getting caught"

"Caught with what?" He scoffed.

"Hiding in your house, Mr.Hayes. Nothing we do is normal"

"Why are you so fixated on being normal?" He sighed, coming out of the kitchen to get the wine bottle. Ruby didn't let him.

"One glass, please"

"You have school tomorrow, young lady. I can't let you have hangovers in class" He took it away.

"Why can't you ever be nice to me!" She groaned, banging the table childishly.

"You should buy yourself a cell" He replied nonchalantly.

"Jerk" She muttered to herself and laid on the table.

Hayes brought her a plate of spaghetti, "Are you hungry?"

She didn't lift her head.

He sat next to her and bumped the plate against her arm, "Eat your dinner"

"I don't want it"

"Okay, more for me"

Hayes dug in without hesitation, "When I was young, there was a Chinese shop outside my college. They sold udon and it was the most delicious thing I had ever eaten. But the old owner died while I was a sophomore. I was never able to eat it again. Can you tell me the moral of the story?"

"Never neglect food!"

Ruby sat up and snatched the fork from Mr.Hayes, digging in herself.

"Food can give you better memories than people"

She glanced at him, realizing the reference he made to his childhood trauma. She knew that he was holding back from talking. The things that happened to him were very hard to talk about.

"Do you remember the dance you taught me?" She got up with a wide grin and held out her hand. He took it with a warm smile and pulled her closer to him than when they had practiced.

Ruby forgot how much the proximity affected her as they stared eye to eye.

"You got nothing to talk about?" He chuckled, knowing she was gawking at him again.

"No..."

She stared down, her face reddening. The dance was a terrible idea.

"The school tour is coming up soon. Mrs.Ceira talked about it earlier, it would probably be for about three days. But each of you will be drowned in exams after it's done"