Red Hair, Black Soul (Red & Black #1)

05 | A book, a letter, and a feather

My eyes narrow. His brow arches. He's being serious.

"Jed." Makena groans protractedly. "Don't be a jerk."

"I'm not." He raises his hands in a mock surrender. "I'm just sharing my thoughts."

"Your thoughts are not worth sharing." Makena fires back. "Sit your dumb ass."

Jed grins and scratches at his cheek with his middle finger. Makena laughs and shakes her head.

"Sorry for him." She says to me. "He has poor social skills."

"Says the one who just called my ass dumb." Jed murmurs.

Makena sticks out her tongue at him. He frowns in response.

"Welcome, everybody!" A voice exclaims.

I turn to the front of the classroom to find the teacher entering. She's a short, stout woman with graying hair that wears traces of a blonde dye. She's wearing rectangle glasses that are perched atop of her hawk nose. Her shirt is green, brightening the colour of her sharp eyes. She looks like she's somewhere between fifty and sixty, but something in her gaze makes her seem younger. Also, she emanates an intelligent aura. She kind of reminds me of the Owl from Winnie the Pooh - both with her appearance and demeanor.

"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen." She stands in the middle of the room, away from the desk. "I trust that most of you haven't forgotten me during the summer break." She swipes the room with a look, making the other students chuckle. "Oh, but I see a new face." She announces when her gaze pauses on me,

I resist the urge to bang my head against the desk.

"Hello, my dear. My name's Alice Scottinson, welcome to my World Literature lesson. I hope I'll infect you with my love for books and make you enjoy my class as much as I enjoy teaching it."

Oh wow. I'm literally struck speechless. It's the first time any teacher spoke to me this way. Her words radiated natural authority, and yet made me feel like her equal all at once. Adults rarely let me feel like their equal. Not even Ms. Brownstone came close to it.

I nod, unable to utter a word. I know it's not the most eloquent response I could come up with, but in my defense, I was caught off-guard.

Mrs. Scottinson doesn't seem to mind as she smiles slightly and moves on.

"This year, we're going to deal with another portion of masterpieces that make our world even more fascinating." She says, clasping her hands in front of her. "As usual, I'm not going to give you the list of the books I want you to read. I like to keep you on your toes."

I notice a few of the students nod.

"However," Ms. Scottinson turns our back to us and moves over to the board. "I can already give you a hint about your first challenge."

She takes the chalk and draws three symbols on the blackboard. When she steps aside, I study the pictures.

The first one is an open book. Next to it is a letter. The last one is something that looks like a peacock's feather.

Ms. Scottinson gives us a moment to take the drawings in before continuing. "Does anyone have any idea what book I have in mind?"

I narrow my eyes slightly, focusing them on the board. I know these symbols. The book, the letter, the...

"Pride and Prejudice." My voice coincides with another.

I furrow my brows as I recognise the low tone. I turn my head to the left and notice Jed already looking in my direction.

"Yes, indeed." She muses slowly. "Congratulations."

My eyes are still focused on Jed. When he winks, I frown and turn to face the blackboard,

"Pride and Prejudice." Ms. Scottinson announces, picking up the book. She clasps it in both hands and holds it in front of her. "A collision of words. A battle of opposites. A clash of tempers. All closed in one masterpiece created before any of us could have ever been born."

I swear she's the only person who can form words like these and don't make them sound lame.

"Outstanding plot, vivid characters, and a flaming romance that might give food for thought to some individuals."

Her eyes assess the classroom meaningfully.

"Ladies will fall in love with Mr. Darcy, gentlemen will learn some manners from Mr. Bingley. All of it during the three weeks I'll give you to read it. And before you start protesting," She raises a finger. "it's not Shakespeare. It's only 279 pages of words you should comprehend without much problem. And no, you can't read the sacrilegious version with zombies."

A collective groan resonates in the classroom.

"There's nothing to regret, I assure you." Ms. Scottinson says, laying the book back down on her desk. She sorts through some papers and picks up one page.

"Next week, I'm going to give you a list of songs to listen and collate with the book. You won't have to write anything, but I'll ask for your opinion of how they do or do not fit into the plot when we start out discussion."

I blink. That's not a way of learning I've ever known.

"We won't watch the movie during our class, simply because it's too long. But you're more than welcome to watch it by yourselves at home and think about its good and bad sides. I'd like you to confront the movie and the book and find the similarities and the differences in the plot. And don't even try to read the summary, I know when someone cheats."

A big sigh shudders through the classroom.

"As usual, think of your observations, you can note them down if it helps you. In three weeks, we're going to make a discussion on the class forum and in groups."

Ms. Scottinson rounds the desk and stands in front of it, facing us.

"Now, to kill the time remaining until the end of the lesson, we can talk about the books you've read during your summer break."

I stay as low as possible and don't really take part in the conversation for the rest of the class. Instead, I opt between avoiding eye contact with Ms. Scottinson and drawing geometric patterns in my notebook. When the bell rings, I'm up and rushing out before everyone else.

"Ada, Jed." Ms. Scottinson's voice stops me. I pause next to her desk and turn.

"I congratulate you on knowing the book once more. It's good to know that someone so young can still find some time to busy themselves with something as old as Jane Austen. Thank you for it."

I force a slight smile and nod. Murmuring a goodbye, I rush out of the classroom and onto the corridor.

"You don't look like an Austen maniac." Jed's voice follows me.

"Oh really? Because you, on the other hand, look like a total fanboy to me." I fire without turning.

"Oh, Fiona, there's much you don't know about me." I can hear the amusement in his voice.

I keep going, hoping he'll leave me alone. And for once, my prayers are accepted, because Jed miraculously picks up his pace and bypasses me. Not without a last word, though. My spine stiffens and my shoulders square as he whispers in my ear on his way. The corridor's loud, so I have really no idea how I manage to hear it, but I do. Leaning in, he murmurs just one, short word.

"Yet."