A picture of our teacher Mr Green, and what he is wearing today. :)
I hope you will enjoy today's upload. Please don't forget to comment and vote! It helps a small writer like me <3
As always, I like to hear any feedback negative/positive. We can work together to make it a better story.
Sussannah
~🖤~~🖤~~🖤~
C h a p t e r F o u r t e e n
The dreaded Friday morning arrived.
Today, Tom had dropped me off at school early again. I was hanging out in the library, sitting between the shelves and flipping through the pictures of a random book I had grabbed without looking. There were a few other early-comers doing some extra study on the computer. Normally I would be doing the same, rather than wasting my time, but since last night was another late night of cramming and catching up on homework, my brain was already giving out.
Sitting here and looking through the book only made me miss my bed. After barely four hours of shut eye, I was feeling extra bored and sleepy; I regretted not bringing something else to entertain my brain in the library. It was also far early in the morning, and cold, to persuade me to get up and find a more interesting book.
The late-summer-early-autumn rain had started last night bringing along with it an out of the norm cold front and chill. It was the first cyclone we'd seen this year, and it was already making its presence known.
The whistle of the wind hissed through small cracks, like tight air through a jar, between the glass window frame of the library. The glass everywhere shook with a low vibration with each howl, and I shivered in my spot.
I ran my hands up and down my arm, thankful that I at least brought my school jacket with me. After having some warm spells earlier in the week, I hadn't expected it to be this cold so soon in the year. My legs were riddled with goosebumps, I was left quivering to my bones.
A thick wooly blanket was all that I wished for at this moment, I could just imagine falling asleep in it.
As I leaned back on the shelf behind me with my eyes closed, imagining the book I was hugging was my teddy-bear, I heard the soft chime of the bell that hanged on the library door as someone entered.
It was common for the bell to ring every few minutes as teachers bustled in and out, photocopying papers, getting reading resources, or doing whatever they could before class started. This time however, I notice the distinct sound of a familiar pair of dress boots tapping along the floor. Instantly I felt nervous. I opened my eyes and turned in the direction of the sound.
A tall, dark-haired, and admittedly, too-handsome-for-the-morning man walked in sporting a grey stylish trench coat. Upon seeing him, I clambered into the back corner between the shelves to hide. I peeked at him in between the bookshelves and I saw that he had an eighth grader kid trailing behind him. Thank god he'dd picked on someone else in the hallways. Poor kid. This fact failed to quell the unsettled feeling in my stomach.
I didn't know why I was avoiding him all of a sudden...
Lie, I do.
It was because today was the cursed day where I was to go with him to his house for piano lessons after school. When I told my parents that, and they thought it was totally fine. Correction, they felt appreciative that he wasn't canceling my lesson, and that he was willing to take me there so I didn't have to take public transport in this storm.
At this point, I'd so rather the bus than take another car ride with him. But at least Tom was going to pick me up afterward, so I felt better about that.
But still, I had no idea why I was feeling so damn nervous about it. I've been to his house a few times now, I know what it's like. I've sat in his car before and had lessons, nothing was new. Yet it still felt so unnerving.
I leaned forward, ducked and bobbed my head a few times in between the bookshelves, trying to see what they were up to. I felt a little bit like a creep doing this but I really didn't want him to see me. I couldn't muster up the energy to deal with being around him–especially when I knew I was going to need it later that day.
I watched as Mr. Green say something to the kid with glasses, and suddenly he pointed toward the shelves in my direction.
Crap. They were coming this way!
Rapidly I squabbled back to the corner, put my hoody on, and zipped my jacket all the way past my head so that only my eyes were left exposed. As their footsteps drew nearer, I quickly picked up the random history book I had been "reading" and put it in front of my face.
Mr. Green and the kid stopped behind the shelf to my right.
"Okay, Brian. I'm going to go get the trolly for the books so you start gathering up all the Burial Rites novels for class, alright? I'll be right back," He instructed the boy. It was only when his dress shoes walked away did I begin to relax a bit.
Brian did exactly as he was told and he started picking out handfuls of the book into his arms. I thought back to the time I was the one who had to help Mr. Green bring the books to class and remembered that I was hiding for a good cause.
"Uh... What the hell are you doing? Are you spying on us?" a high-pitched, pubescent voice questioned out of nowhere. I looked up to see the orange hair kid giving me a peculiar look through his thick spectacles. I'd admit, I must've really looked sketchy with my hoody zipped to the ceiling.
"Shhhh!" I hushed him anxiously, waving him away with my hands. "Keep your voice down kid! It's cold okay. Oh, and pretend you didn't see me!"
"Okay then... weird lady." He murmured and went back to gathering more books into his arms. I closed my eyes, satisfied. Brian was a good kid, and did what he told. Nice, I approved.
Not long after, Mr. Green came back wheeling an empty trolly with him. I quickly picked up my history book again and put it back in front of my face, this time angling it towards the newly exposed gap from where Brian had taken the books from. If Mr. Green so much as looked over to this side and saw me, I don't even know what my excuse would be.
"I'm back!" His voice was smooth and deep against the low grumble of thunder outside. "Whoa there! Here, pass me those before they fall. Also thanks for helping me out for class Brian, I really appreciate it." They begin unloading the novels from Brian's arms before starting back the ones still on the shelf.
One by one, as more books began to disappear off the shelf leaving a bigger and bigger gap each time, inch by inch I sank lower against the wall behind my book, onto the ground until I could sink no more. I groaned. I should've run the moment I saw them come through the door!
"Guess what Brian? I'll let you in on a little secret. I gave the super squeaky trolley to Mrs. Hansort today," mentioned Mr. Green casually, out of nowhere. There was a hidden mischief in his voice.
"You mean the one Jayden brought in last time– the one that sounded like someone dragging pots down the hall?!"
"Yep, that one! I keep it specifically for the cheeky students in my class. "
Brian giggled and a snort came out. "Haha, serves them right! You're a genius, Mr. Green."
My mind flashed back to a few weeks ago:
---
*Squeeeeeeeeek-Squeeeeeeek!*
I was pushing the trolly down the hallway, keeping my head and gaze down as low possible as I pass everyone at their lockers who stopped to stare.
*Squeeeeeekk*
With each turning of the noisy wheel, the sniggers of the students filled my ears louder and louder, and each pointed finger became harder to miss. All the while Mr. Green strutted down the hallway beside me, a coffee mug in his hands, looking very comfortably smug.
---
I started fuming.
Uh, excuse me?
So he did it on purpose? That– ugh!
I gripped the book tightly in my hands till they went white and conjured up all the different ways to dunk his head in the toilet.
So, Mr. Green really loved to push my button that much, huh?
With the book so close to my nose, all of a sudden I felt a sneeze coming. "Ahh....Ahh... Choo–mpfhh!" I brought my hands to quickly cover the sneeze. Shit! I prayed they didn't hear a thing!
"What was that sound?" Brian feigned curiously.
That little... punk. Immediately my face went pale.
"What was what?" Mr. Green asked.
I peeked behind the book and saw Brian sticking his tongue out at me. I glared at him fiercely with my eyes, mouthing cuss words that didn't look pretty.
"I don't know, I'm sure I heard something," four-eyed Brian insisted. "It's really strange, it sounded like it came from somewhere behind the shelves. Shouldn't we go check it out?"
I shook angrily. Okay, there must be a book somewhere that taught girls how to simultaneously dunk two guys' heads into the toilet. The pip-squeak knew what he was doing!
"Really? I didn't hear anything." Mr. Green replied indifferently, examining the spine of a novel he had in his hand.
I sighed with relief as he continued speaking, "whatever it was, it was probably just the wind. Sounds like the cyclone is picking up again. Alright, this should be enough for the class. Let's head back to my room before this place blows down."
Brian sulked as they left, however not without forgetting to put his stubby middle finger up behind his back, knowing very well I could see.
Damn eight grader! I cursed at him, flipping him one back. Little Brian better watch out if he ever dared to cross my path in the halls!
Hiding hid under the book for a little while longer as they walked towards the exit, I waited until I heard the chime of the library door before sliding the book off my face and zipping my hoody off my head.
"Finally, air!" I gasped giving my arms and legs a good shake. Clearly, the library was just as dangerous as the hallways. I'll have to find another activity to do whenever I'm at school early next time.
Glancing at my watch there was just about five minutes until the first bell rang. With a few books I still needed for my first class in my lockers, I head in that direction.
~🖤~
"Psst! Rose!" Luke called from around the corner as I was just about finished with grabbing all the books for Math. Luke flounced towards me eagerly and leaned against the panels of the neighbouring lockers. I could tell he was keen to tell me something.
"Hey Luke. Gosh, you're all wet!" I exclaimed as I observed the big raindrop stains all over his school tops. "Oh, where's Mandy?" I looked around, normally they arrive at school together.
"Oh, I came a bit early today because I wanted to ask you something." He looked around our surrounding nervously. There were quite a few students lingering in the hallways however none within listening distance.
"Sure, what's up?" I closed my locker door, wondering what was so important he couldn't wait until later. I suspected it had to do with someone who was yet to turn up.
"Um, look..." He began, scratching his wet hair behind his ear. "I wanted to ask you something since you're uh... so close to Mandy and that you're... a girl and stuff." He looked away as he spoke a little too quickly. My ears perked up and I began to get excited, my intuition was right!
"Um, so like... I was wondering right... Did she mention anything about wanting to go to the... uh... the ball with anyone?" The tips of his ears began to turn red as he stumbled. I watched as the small freckles on his face blended into his blush and my heart began to melt at his little display. He was so nervous.
"Dude, no. Don't worry! She hasn't." I replied affectionally, punching his arm lightly in friendly manner. "What, you're thinking of asking her aren't ya?"
"NO, I'm not!!!" He yelled out a little too loudly for someone who was insisting on the opposite. I grew even more suspicious.
"No yelling in the corridor, Mr. Brighton!" Mrs. Collins, the school vice Chaplin, bellowed as she walked past, making her rounds.
I always thought she resembled a crow, in the nicest way possible. Mrs. Collins always wore her thin black hair up in a tight bun on the top of her head, and her outfit was always black. Black top, black pencil skirt, black tights and black shoes, every day of the year. The only colour on her was the crimson of her lipstick.
Her eyes narrowed as she peered at us through the small circular spectacles that were sitting at the bridge of her sharp beak-like nose. Her mouth turned downwards in displeasure.
"Sorry Mrs. Collins!" He called towards her, giving a wave and a smile while she "Hmph'ed" away, appeased.
"Opps... Shit. Sorry." Luke winced as he turned back to me.
"No problem. Back to my question though." I tell him.
Luke hesitated slightly and signed, and that's when he finally confided. "Okay, fine. Yeah I've thinking of asking her." Luke shrugged in a defeated manner before concern suddenly plagued his face. "Please d-dont tell her though! I was just worried she had someone else in mind."
"Aww, Lukey I understand. Hey, I'm sure she would love to go with you anyway." I gave him a reassuring pat. "Don't worry, your secret is safe. Do you know how you're going to ask her?"
He shook his head and looked up, thinking for a while. The bell rang above our heads and everybody started to vacate the vicinity.
"I was hoping you could help me with some ideas," Luke asked above the noise.
"Oh my gosh, yes! I am so down for that." I nodded eagerly, my mind already started to tick at the idea of possibly helping them get set up together. I sort of knew what Mandy liked, definitely something a classic romantic would like. Like a candle-lit dinner, bouquet of flowers and chocolate, movies – that sort of thing.
"Well, Luke. I gotta go walk down to Math, but I'll definitely let you know once I thought of something! Don't worry, I won't say a word to her..." I wagged my eyebrows playfully at him and made scary noises. "Or will I?"
Luke's eyes widened in horror.
"Rose, I swear if you dare–" He shook his head as I cackled down the hallway.
~🖤~
During lunch my foot was shaking uncontrollably as I held my sandwich in my hands. Mandy finally put her hands on my legs, and gave me a weird look.
"Dude, half of your filling is falling out of your sandwich! What's going on with you? You wanna eat plain bread or something? Because that is how you eat plain bread." It was just us at the lunch bench at the moment. Very often, Mandy reminded me of my mother. I say this with love of course. She was always around to keep me in check as sometimes I did tend to space out.
I looked at her and smiled, aware that my mouth was full of food I had yet to chew, then went back to shaking my legs, my mind swirling around though not specifically thinking of anything.
"Ugh, Rose. For such a pretty girl, I swear you do the strangest things sometimes. Now sit still and eat! You're giving me whiplash!" She shook her head disapprovingly and went back to her own lunch. It was a bowl of minestrone soup, but the way the lumpy brown beans and thick filling glooped down her spoon made my insides churn more.
"Good. Now," Mandy probed, "tell me why you're so nervous. You've been giddy since recess."
I gave her an exasperated face.
Damn, how did she know? Nothing ever gets past her.
"You're face is like an open book Rose. Anything you feel or think gets worn on your expression immediately." She scorns.
I pouted at her and kicked the pole under our bench in frustration, putting my half-empty sandwich down on the plate. I wasn't hungry. I guess there's no reason to hide it from Mandy anyway.
"I gotta go Mr. Green's house for piano today." I finally reveal.
"What, that's it?"
See, why was I overreacting? Even she thought it was nothing. "Yeah," I sighed, blushing a little. "But we're taking his car after school." I looked at her, anticipating her reaction now.
Mandy eyed me silently for a moment and then a disturbing smile formed on her face. You're slightly developing a crush on him, aren't you? Her expression read. I looked away from her invasively perceptive eyes and put my hands in my face, feeling it starting to burn up. We both knew how absurd her suggestion was as I have zero interest in guys.
It was impossible for me to have a crush on Mr. Green.
Any guy that I get to know, in the future perhaps. But not him.
I barely knew anything about Jasper. I mean, all I've done so far is sit in his English class and play some piano for him. We haven't really talked much about anything personal, which meant that he was one big mystery to me. How could I like someone I don't know? No. I refuse to think that it was a crush, especially not since I still feel very uncomfortable around him.
There was always this lingering feeling of uncertainty with Mr. Green. It was hard to explain, and it was as if no one else felt it. It was like something dark lurking beneath the murky river, and it might suddenly erupt in bubbles at a moment's notice if I got too close. I don't think I could explain this weird sentiment to her without sounding even more paranoid and stupid.
Anyway, I had always thought that if I liked someone, it would be with someone whose company could bring me out of the shell that I'd built over the years, so that I no longer had to feel like I was hiding anymore–or that I was hurting anymore.
Maybe, I was finally agreeing with the other girls and thought he was very handsome. That I could admit at most, but nothing more.
Mandy knew that I hadn't had any boyfriend before, nor had I ever expressed any interest in any of the guys in our whole school, even if it was just to make friends (Luke was the only exception, and that was only because he was Mandy's best friend). So if I told her I only thought Mr. Green was attractive, it would only end up being a huge deal to her.
I decided against it. Why? Because all he had was good looks, but it wasn't enough to crush over.
At that moment, Luke finally came over to save me. The table shook as he dumped his belongings and sat at our bench. He was still soaking all over– actually, he was wetter than I'd last seen this morning. He shook his head causing droplets of water to fly from his now spikey, wet hair, covering us and our food.
"LUKE! Get–" Mandy shrieked as she pushed him away from her.
I laughed while he grinned and he shook more water out of his hair causing another shrill to escape.
"Where have you been? Swimming with the ducks?!" She interrogated, swatting away water from Luke's shoulder and arms. "My god, you're gonna catch cold you dumb kid. You know what, you'd probably deserve it! You ditched me this morning and now you're only joining us half-way during lunch."
"Oi, chill nah. Just played a bit of soccer on the oval with Max and James for a bit." Luke replied nonchalantly, flipping his packed burger upside down to open it up before chomping down hungrily.
"In this weather?" I looked out the windows of the cafeteria, astonished. "Aren't you scared of getting struck by lightning? Maybe that's just an irrational fear of mine but we do have some tall ass trees on the oval that could conduct lightning."
"Exactly, you crazy?" Mandy scolded. "It's scary out there! I seriously can't understand you boys sometimes." She took a tissue packet out of her bag and threw it at Luke's chest. "Here."
"Yeah, nah." Luke sniffled, rubbing his nose. "It was hella fun. There were about say... ten of all out us there until grumpy Mrs. Collins came stomping out in her wittle black umbrella yelling at us to get out of the rain. It was hilarious, we pretended we couldn't hear her and so the sport teacher had to come out with his whistle and megaphone!" He explained excitedly, laughing the entire time. I'll have to admit, the mental image it gave me was definitely hilarious.
Just then, a small group of guys came busting noisily into the cafeteria. They were all equally as wet as Luke; their clothes were soaked to the core and small puddles of water trailed behind them as they walked. They came passed our table and one of the dark-haired guys reached out and slapped Luke on the back.
"Lukayy! With the girls already? Whatcha eating, I'm starving!" He stated with twinkling blue eyes, looking at our table. He was a fairly tall boy and but he had a gentle face. He caught my eye and gave me a smile. I gave him one back, timidly then turned away, searching Mandy's face for comfort.
"Aye, Maxay! What can I say man? I'm a ladies man, these bitches love me." Luke stuck his arms out while Mandy faked a gag and I cringed beyond disbelief. "By the way, I took the last burger already. You're too slow getting here, just like how you were too slow out on the field!" He stuck his tongue out at his friend and made an 'L' on his forehead.
"Ouch, low blow man." Max clutch his chest, pretending to be in pain as he backed away toward the food stalls. "I'll beat your cheating ass next time, just wait!"
Luke grinned and turned back towards us. He took the tissues Mandy gave, just in time before a row of sneezes followed. "Aw shiet. Might catch a cold after this after all." He laughed and continued to devour his food regardless, sniffling in between each bite.
"Yeah, your lips look like they are turning a bit blue." I looked at him a little worriedly. His face was also turning pale. "I mean, you already sat in wet clothes all day since the morning, will you be alright?"
"What?" Mandy eyed him suspiciously, "You mean when you ditched me this morning suddenly? We still haven't talked about that yet."
Luke looked rattled in his seat for a moment but regained his composure quickly. A slight pink tinge went to his cheek. He remained silent while we stared him down, and then he started sneezing again.
"Right, that's it." Mandy stood up and started packing up. "Let's go to the nurse's office. Maybe they'll have some spare clothes or a towel."
"No, I don't think it's necessary. There's only two periods left, I'll be fine–" Luke looked up flustered as Mandy already had his bag in her arms.
"At least it'll way be warmer than here or in the classrooms. You can finish your lunch there." She offered, nodding her head towards the exit. "Okay, come on Lukey boy!"
I stayed in my seat, smiling silently as I saw the soft redness blooming on the tips of Luke's ear. I kicked myself wondering why I hadn't paid enough attention earlier. It was adorable.
Yes, I thought, if anything... I would like a relationship like this, whenever I was ready that was. Even if Luke and Mandy were constantly at each other's throats, you knew that they always had each other's best intentions in mind and you could really see how much they cared about each other.
"You coming, Rose?"
"Oh, no no! I just remembered I have to get a few things from my locker. You guys go ahead first, will text later in the group chat!"
I figured they could have some alone time. Maybe with Luke being sick and Mandy there to look after him, they might share an intimate moment while looking deeply into each other's eyes and realise that they truly love– okay, I was getting slightly ahead of myself.
I shooed them off with my hands as another row sneezes came out of Luke. "Go quick." I laughed.
"In that case, we'll head off first. You take care, text me!" Mandy called dragging Luke away with a grip on his ear. Luke gave me a sad goodbye smile, looking like a puppy being dragged away by his mother... only that Mandy was like half his height. It was a funny sight to see.
I wiggled my eyebrows suggestively at him, and he looked stunned before sending me a deathly glare which resulted in me cracking up even more. I put a finger to my lip letting him know that I intended on keeping his secret.
Well, it was cute to tease him anyway, his reaction was gold!
After Mandy and Luke had left, the nerves had returned in full force, refusing to stop scrambling around in my head. I picked up my own things, as well as the remains of my lunch, and I walked over to the bin to throw the rest of it away. I really couldn't stomach it anymore, I'd tried my best and only managed to finish half of it.
"See, I told you she doesn't eat!" A girl's voice teased, followed by the sound of laughter. The commotion floated into my ears and I spun around to find Cassie and her minions, along with a few other jocks standing slightly afar, looking my way.
Far out, give me a break. I sighed as I stacked my tray into the stand.
"Sweetie, you're meant to eat the food, not throw it in the bin or throw it up. It's not a good look for you." Mel added sarcastically, nodding her head in mocked concern.
My hands formed into a tight fists and I took a breath in. It was about time I stood up for myself in front of the whole group. I really had enough–
"Shut up and leave her alone. At least she's not fat like you bitches with your jiggling thunder thighs, maybe you should really try going for a run." A familiar voice came out from nowhere suddenly. It was Max, Luke's friend from before. He walked by and slammed his juice box into the bin in front of me.
The girls all gasped and the jocks around them "ooed" at the commotion.
"Oiii, sick burn bro," one of the jocks laughed.
"What the hell did you say to us?" Samantha exclaimed in a pit of rage. "We're not fat! Screw you Max, I'm telling Mum on you, you emo jerk!"
Mum? I thought for a second. Max had dark hair and Samantha...? Oh, that's right how could I have forgotten the bleached blonde hair?
I only found out now that they were siblings. Seeing the both of them now in the same room, I suppose the resemblances were there; both were tall and attractive. But personality-wise, they couldn't be more different.
"Yeah? Well you go do that then, tell Mum." Max looked at me for a second before stalking off out of the cafeteria, leaving the girls and me stunned.
I guffawed at their speechlessness and booked it out of there myself, feeling somewhat satisfied for once as the bell rang behind me.
~🖤~
I flushed the toilet and picked up my stone-laden school bag. Gosh I hate the end of Fridays, it was when my bag was the heaviest. Filled with all my study books needed for the weekend. It put a strain on my shoulders and back.
It was late afternoon already, and I looked up in the mirror to see how well I held up. The answer was not very. I had hollows under both my eyes, my skin was pale and lacking, and my face just looked tired. My brown hair was also flat, swaying slightly from the ghastly draft coming through the whistling bathroom windows.
Well, I thought optimistically, at least my hair was good three inches past my shoulders now. It was the longest it's been for years since I cut it. I kept it short for the longest time. But lately, I've been getting more excited at the idea of having long hair again, like I used to have, only I won't dye it blond anymore.
Who knows, maybe by graduation day I will have the full length back!
The wind whistled and howled, and I shivered at the sink just as another shower of rain came pelting down on the roof above. It was getting darker with the thick clouds rolling in, and the school was getting silent as most students were already on their way home; every after-school activity had been canceled due to the weather. The storm was taking a turn for the worse however I was dreading the walk out the door into the English corridor more. Finally after deciding I had stalled long enough, I began walking down the hallway.
The door to his room was left open. He was expecting me.
After stopping to take a quick final breath, I nervously knocked and entered.
"Ah, miss Rose. Was wondering when you'd get here," Mr. Green looked up briefly from where he stood behind his desk to finish the rest of his packing. Today he wore a cozy long-sleeved, chequered-blue collared shirt which left barely any breathing space against his frame. It was tucked lightly into his usual black long trousers, cinched into his slim waist by his belt.
I felt my breath disappear into the thick air as I see him.
"Ah, s-sorry... I got caught up," I murmured anxiously.
"No worries, I'll be done soon." He fiddled with his files, and I watched as a small furrow creased into his brows as he struggled to get the zip all the way up. "Just gotta zip... my bag up... Okay, done. Here, grab that umbrella behind the door while I grab these two and we can be on our way."
I take the umbrella from its place while Mr. Green grabbed his briefcase and his stack of files. I wait in the hallway while he did one last final check of the classroom, switching off the lights and locking the door on his way out.
When he was done, he cocked his head to the side and flashed me a smile, coincidentally as a strike of lightning lit his face up. "Come on, this way." His voice was low and smooth.
I gulped.
I followed him while carefully keeping my distance as I struggled with my heavy shoulder bag. He reached the end of the hallway first, and as he waited, watched me make my way down. I strained myself in a hurry to make it there faster so that it wouldn't be so awkward.
He unexpectedly extended one of his arms out toward me and I jump back slightly.
"Give me your bag, I'll carry it. You look like you're struggling a bit there."
I shook my head nervously in a blush, "it's okay, I can do it."
"Nonsense, I insist. Here you carry these files and we'll do a trade."
"It's... Okay fine, thank you." I put the umbrella in between my legs to hold it in place while we swapped my bag and his files.
"Jesus." He exclaims the second he took my bag from my shoulder. "What on Earth you got in here, bricks?"
I laughed and shook my head. "No, just my books and study stuff."
"That's awfully terrible for your shoulder. You should really get a backpack, that way you can have the weight distributed evenly on your back," he suggested. I shrugged, wrapping the files in one arm, and picked up the umbrella ready to continue.
Approaching the side exit that opened to the car park, we see that rain was still falling down relentlessly. Large ominous clouds loomed in the sky and when we looked down below at the car park. It was flooded with water.
It looked like a small lake with the amount of water in it. All that was missing were some ducks and lilypads.
I fiddled with the umbrella, struggling to release it open when it suddenly dawned on me: there was only one umbrella... And it wasn't even a large one! It was designed for a single person only. Great!
My heart began to palpitate at the idea of us going together, under this tiny unreliable flap of fabric. No, I'd rather get soaked!
Mr. Green looked out into the car park, perturbed, as if thinking the same thing. "Oh right, I forgot to bring another umbrella...Not to mention, I came late today so my car is parked in the furthest spot."
Furtherest parking spot? WHAT!?
I stared at him with a bewildered expression, almost dropping the umbrella as it'd be useless anyway.
He watched me silently, his eyes flicking between my eyes as if thinking worriedly. I look back. I was definitely equally as concerned, if not more – What if he secretly parked there on purpose?
"Okay, I know. How about I take the umbrella to the car and then I'll drive up here. That way you won't have to travel too far." He placed the bags he was carrying on the floor. His eyes searched for validation. "Does that sound like a good plan?"
I nodded my head and wordlessly passed the umbrella over to him, grateful for this solution.
Our fingers crossed over briefly as he grabbed the handle and with that, Mr. Green flew down the stairs quickly and sprinted across the wet carpark to his car while I stared after him, holding onto my fingers.
His touch, it was warm like the other day when he held my hands in his. It left a warm graze on my fingers. I shake the intrusive memory out of my head to no avail. The image of our hands continued to burn in my memory causing a weird shiver to go down my spine.
I watched Mr. Green in the distance as splashes of water flew into the air as his feet made contact with the ground. There must have been at least a few inches of water in the puddles, but he glided across the open space effortlessly. I shivered again in the blast of the chilly rain, another blast of lightning lit the sky for a split second.
A pair of yellow lights shone through the moody parking lot as Mr. Green drove up. I blinked out of my clouded thoughts, noticing that he was driving his white Toyota Corolla instead of the other fancier cars I knew he had in his garage. Maybe he didn't want to stand out too much at school? I thought to myself.
Though, it wouldn't quite make sense as there are plenty I've seen plenty of BMWs, Audis and Teslas around here, and we were in a well off school in a decent suburb anyway. He wouldn't be would be sticking out much at all. Eventually, I shrugged it off with the possibility of the car being sentimental to him. Maybe it was his first.
Once Mr. Green parked his car as close as he could to the path, he opened the door and came back up the staircase to retrieve me with the umbrella. That was when I started getting anxious again.
"Right let's do this!" He yelled over the rain. "I'll walk you to the car and we'll go together quickly to unload it through the passenger side."
"Um... Okay!" I replied somewhat unsurely, picking up my bag. I still had a bunch of his files in my other arm.
As we huddled together quickly down the stairs, I tried my best to ignore his slight panting and the warmth radiating off his body due to our close proximity. Our shoulders bumped and grazed along each other under the tiny umbrella.
Out of nowhere, a small pebble came loose under my feet and slid. I lose balance and as I slipped, my hands loosened on the files on accident, causing them to fall out of my grip.
I let out a small scream as I tripped over my feet, but immediately a strong and sturdy arm snaked around the small of my waist, preventing me from falling.
He pulls me out of the rain, closer into his body under the hood of the umbrella. Instantly I felt the blood drain out of my face.
"Be careful!" He warned looking me straight in the eyes. I felt my cheeks becoming brazened, but I tore my eyes away from him and noticed the files on the ground getting soaked. I wrangle out of his grip and ran out into the rain. The papers were floating at the edge of the last step, about to drop into the stream of water traveling south.
"NO!" I shrieked, snatching them up just at the last second. My heart pounded loudly in my chest. Any longer and they would have totally been unsalvageable.
Holy crap, nice save... Not!
As water dripped from the hardcover, instantly I felt extremely embarrassed for having dropped them in the first place. I probably just ruined everybody's work inside.
"Mr. Green, I'm so sorry!" I looked down at the files and tried my best to dry them them with the sleeves of my jumper fruitlessly forgetting that water was still coming back from above as it was still raining.
Suddenly his umbrella came over the top sheltering me from any more rain and Mr. Green appeared in front of me again, this time even closer than before. I stood there in the moving tides under my shoes, my ankle deep in water.
I looked down at my feet, they were now standing practically in between his dark dress shoes– which were equally as drenched. At that moment, I became hyper-aware of how close he was.
Slowly and anxiously, I looked up from our feet and locked eyes with mysterious gaze of Mr. Green and I flinch slightly. His face, just inches from mine, was unreadable. But his eyes looked as if they were darkened and lost in thoughts. My hair was dripping water from my bangs, and it ran down into my eyes. I turn my head away and blinked it rapidly away, relieved that I had an excuse to look elsewhere.
Lightning flashed in the sky above us and a rolling pin of thunder followed. I ignored the view from my peripherals as his marble-statue-like face lit up from the flash. I shivered again as my legs were getting pelted with the rain which attacked from a new angle.
Here, I could smell his warm scent coming from his chest, his breath hot on my face. I was mere fingertips away from his embrace. His radiating heat felt inviting, compared to the torrent of cold rain surrounding us, but I resisted the urge to lean my head forward into the crook of his neck.
"We're almost there," he spoke softly. "Let's get out of here."
Together we walked a few more steps to his car. Only this time there was a bit more distance between us this time. It seemed he was keeping his space.
~🖤~~🖤~~🖤~