Ms. West

Through the Window, Between the Lines

She opened the door and greeted me with, "Hello, bitch."

"Hello, darling," I replied smoothly.

As soon as Meen slid into the car, her perfume hit me—sharp, luxurious, the unmistakable scent of wealth. It seeped into every corner, clinging to the seats and the air itself. Before I could even take a second breath, I sneezed.

"Whoa, whoa—don't sneeze on me."

"You're the reason I sneezed."

"And why the long face the moment you saw me? Wasn't it Ms. West who gave you a ride home last night? You should be thrilled the Ice Queen herself chauffeured you," Meen laughed.

"Fuck you, Meen. Fuck. You." I gritted my teeth, exhaled sharply, and folded my arms across my chest.

"And why... do you have dark circles under your eyes? Stayed up late?" she asked, narrowing her eyes and pointing at both of mine.

I swatted her hand away and started the engine. "Seatbelt, Meen," I said, nodding toward it.

"Huh! Ask a simple question and you bite my head off," she huffed, pouting slightly as she tugged her seatbelt into place.

I reached over, pinching her cheek and giving it a playful tug. "No one's mad at you, Meen."

She swatted my hand away, her expression still locked in a sulk.

With that, the car rolled forward, carrying us toward work.

"So... did anything happen last night?"

"Meen... nothing happened, okay," I sighed.

But, true to form, Meen didn't believe me for a second.

"Right, nothing happened? Ms. West didn't do anything that made your heart pound so hard you wanted to dig a hole and bury yourself in it?" she teased, smirking.

"Okay, Meen—until I tell you the truth, you're just going to keep asking, aren't you?"

She nodded repeatedly, her expression alight with excitement, clearly expecting me to spill something juicy.

"But seriously, nothing happened. I just asked why she became a teacher, where Noah's parents are, yada yada yada." My eyes stayed firmly on the road ahead.

"Bro? What the fuc—your conversation topic was so boring," she said, face twisting in disgust at what I'd talked about with Tya last night.

"What was I supposed to talk about, huh? She's my teacher, not someone I'm about to pour my life story to," I shot back, giving Meen a sideways glare.

"Eh, wait... did you just say you brought up where Noah's parents are with her?" she asked, her hand gripping my forearm.

"Y-yeah... why? Is there something I should know about Noah's parents?" I asked, my voice edged with nervousness.

"Not my story to tell," she said, lifting both shoulders in a shrug as if to close the topic entirely.

"Oh, so you bring it up, and now you're shutting it down with that? You're actually fucked," I shot back.

As she leaned back, clearly uninterested in explaining further, my mind refused to let it go.
Why did she even bring it up in the first place? Did something happen to Noah's parents? Who are they, really?

And why did both Tya and Meen react the same way—as if the very mention of them was a closed door I wasn't supposed to touch?

Meen only laughed at my obvious frustration, clearly enjoying every second of it. She loved seeing me like this—it made her feel as though she'd won.