The Point of No Return {sequel to The Arbitrary life of Avery Blake [teacher]}

The Point of No Return {sequel to The Arbitrary life of Avery Blake [teacher]}25

‘N-no, not particularly.’ I replied as punctually as I could.

‘Hmm, well that’s strange, because I was given the impression that you were or still are as I heard from a few different sources that it was because of you that he ended up staying. Was I told incorrectly?’

‘Oh, no, I was a part of it but it wasn’t simply me. A few others helped me.’ I admitted.

Please don’t ask who.

Please don’t ask who.

‘And who would they be?’ Ms Osborne asked, in no way forcefully.

‘My three best friends, Ms, and three others . . . Mr Parker, Mr Ford and Ms Fletcher.’ I said, biting the inside of my cheek nervously.

‘And they would be…’

‘My, um, P.E and Music teachers, Ms Osborne.’

‘Oh, how peculiar. But what about Ms Fletcher?’

‘Kimberly-Ms Fletcher is my English teacher…and my sister.’ I mumbled.

There was silence.

‘Well, I can see why you constantly appear on the news, love. Your life seems to be very…interesting. But from what I heard, you were an orphan as you were left at an adoption agency. How did you manage to find your sister?’ she asked, trying to compose myself.

‘To be fair, I didn’t choose any of this. And as for Kimberly, well, she found me.’

‘Of course, I’m sorry. And I’m sure you could explain it all to me but I think there aren’t enough hours in a day, to be honest. Let’s leave it at that. Now, you also mentioned a Mr Parker and Ford if I am correct?’

‘Yeah, um,’ I began as I looked at her. ‘Mr Parker was my P.E. teacher and Mr Ford is my music teacher. They’ve, um, helped me through a lot of stuff, concerning the boy who, uh, kidnapped me. Mr Ford was also one of the people whom found me when I ran away after finding out Kimberly was my sister.’ I concluded, trying to suppress a laugh at the expression on her face. But, of course, she regained er self-control and tried to hide her slipup with a cough.

I think that was the only time I would ever witness such a thing as her losing her composure.

‘I am very sorry to hear that, Avery. But tragedies aside, do you really think it is appropriate to have such relations with your teachers?’

‘I don’t think it was ever a question of appropriateness; it just happened. It just happened; they are like my . . . brothers.’ I said as I internally cringed. I perceived Erik as a possible older brother but, Cole? I could have vomited right there if Ms Osborne wasn’t present.

‘Oh, yes of course; I pity your situation as I can imagine you were never one to have a brother or much of a family.’

I wasn’t quite sure what to say so I simply stayed silent. After about thirty seconds, I spoke. ‘Is there anything else, Ms Osborne? I’m nothing special even though I have been in quite a lot of “special” situations. I really don’t know why you would have called me here to discuss my personal life as I am sure you could have read any numerous amounts of papers or watched any previous news broadcasts. So again I ask, why?’ I asked curiously, trying not to sound rude.

There was silence once more as Ms Osborne placed her chin on top of her fists which were held vertically over the table. She looked very intimidating as her eyes bore into me.

‘To answer your first question, no, I don’t think there is anything else; if anything else comes up, I’ll be sure to find you. And as to the second question, I’ll answer it with a question of my own; is it really out of the ordinary for someone to want to know more about you? You may be well-known for all the wrong reasons but you’ve had a lot of time in the spotlight. The moment I realized you attended the school I was going to be in charge of, I knew I had to have a talk with you; even one as insignificant as this one. So please, forgive me for taking up your time; you may go now.’

I didn’t object as I was out of her office in a matter of seconds.

That woman really did scare me; more so than Kimberly ever did. She was incredibly bipolar as far as I was concerned. One minute she was cold as ice and incredibly intimidating, the next, it seemed like she wanted to know more about me. What was she playing at?

I knew this would be the start of a very long drama.

Kiren Jones’ POV

‘It’s nothing; I just don’t feel very well.’ I shrugged, trying to keep my voice steady as Cole looked me up and down in look of any flaws.

‘Just let me take you to the hospital; even if there isn’t anything wrong at the moment, you’re probably due for a check-up.’ Cole suggested.

‘Cole, I’m not going to the hospital just because of your paranoia, end of story.’ I said stubbornly.

‘Yes, even so, but wouldn’t you prefer to be safe than sorry?’

‘You mean “safe” as in I live and “sorry” as in I die? It’s a bit late for that.  I think my fate was decided long ago.’ I sighed.

There was silence before Cole spoke in exasperation.

‘Kiren, please don’t say that; don’t even think that. You’re young, you still have a whole life to live and you’re strong, you’re going to make it. I’m going to do all I can to make sure of that.’

I laughed as Cole’s face hardened.

‘What can you do in the way of cancer? Nothing. It’s inside me and yet I’m too weak to fight it. As soon as the tables are turned and it starts to get the better of me; I’m gone. I better start saying my goodbye’s now.’ I spoke the final sentence with a soft voice.

Cole’s muscular hands held my shoulders in a firm and pleading grip as he looked at me in desperation; his eyes glistering in moisture.

‘If you know what’s good for you, shut up.’ He said as he clenched his teeth together.

I remained silent as I wasn’t sure what to say.

‘If you’ve given up, fine, but the least you can do is keep it hidden or even show at least some hope. You’re hurting the people around you. We have hope and we definitely don’t want you out of our lives.’

I paused for a few seconds before I sighed.

‘It’s just hard, Cole. I try to hold hope and all that but with the slim chance for survival I have, it makes it hard. I guess I’m sorry for taking you over the edge, and stuff, but if you think it’s hard, I’m not making you stay.’ And with that, I stalked off.

Cole made no attempt to stop me as I tried to walk off as fast as I could.