Saving Melanie Deen

Chapter 40

The young pompous substitute teacher pranced around the front of the classroom, endlessly blabbering about the importance of marriage and the dangers of unprotected intercourse.

I rolled my eyes at the hormonal teenage boys, who continued to make perverted remarks about the naive teacher. Can't she see that none of these kids actually care about what she has to say? I mean, come on! Most of these people had their first time under the bleachers or in the back of some barely-running car. They didn't care about 'marriage first' or the many diseases they could get from one careless night spent with the likes of Trish!

"This shit is so pointless" Quinn whispered, slouching in her seat.

"Tell that to the 'virgin mary' with a tramp stamp..." I snorted, making Quinn search for what I was talking about. Her mouth dropped open at the sight of the innocent teacher bending over to pick up her pen. The white blouse that the teacher was wearing, was hitched up in a way that revealed a rather vulgar tattoo on her lower back. Ironic.

The guys whistled at the sight, making both Quinn and I roll our eyes. It just showed what guys were really like...they were disgusting."Does that tattoo say..." Quinn started as she looked at the tattoo with her head tilted to the side, but was cut off just in time.

"Aye, Ms.Higgins!" One of the guys whistled, making the others pat him on the back and cheer for him as if he had scored a goal in the last few seconds of a soccer match."Didn't know you were a fan of-"

"Oh, shut up!" I cut him off, getting tired of the whole situation.

The guy turned to look at me, his eyebrows furrowed."What did you just say to me?" He scoffed, his friends making 'oooh' and 'ahh' sounds as if we were still in kindergarten. Pathetic.

"Did I stutter?" I rolled my eyes. Quinn sat up straight just in time for the show, letting out an excited giggle at the brewing situation.

The teacher panicked, her eyes darting from me to the guy and back again."You two!" She exclaimed, running up to her desk and slamming a textbook on it. Everyone turned their heads her way, confused at what she was trying to do."Principals office! Now!" She shrieked, growing red from embarrassment.

"Excuse me, what did I-"

"I said, now! Both of you!" She interrupted me, pointing at the door with a trembling arm. Great. That's what I get for trying to defend a teacher.

***

"Wow" Ethan snorted as he strolled into the classroom. He had a leather jacket thrown over his shoulder, flashing a sour scowl my way as he passed me."Definitely didn't expect to see you here" He muttered, taking a seat on the other side of the classroom. There was a sea of empty seats between us, making me realize just how much he was trying to distance himself from me.

I groaned, letting my head fall into my hands. Ever since the heart-to-heart talk we shared, I couldn't rid myself of the guilt nagging at my brain. I knew what he felt. He felt like everything was his fault. And I made him sure of it by staying silent when he told me all about it.

"Ethan," I began, lifting my head out of my hands to look at him. He sat there, on the other side of the classroom, with his phone in his hand. At that moment, he looked like any other teenager."Can you just let me explain?" I asked, a begging tone to my voice.

He grunted, not even giving me a glance. Fantastic.

"It's not your fault" I started anyway, swallowing my pride. He clenched his jaw as he mindlessly scrolled through his social media feed. I could tell he was listening, though."None of it was! I was just...I was just speechless because I never thought you'd feel that way. I thought we moved on from it...I thought everything was finally okay between us. I thought that maybe now we could-"