A flame flickered to life from the end of the lighter. It descended to the candle waiting on the desk. It engulfed the wick, and immediately the room began to smell of wood and warmth. It flooded the air of the classroom. Turning off the lighter, Abigor Rubrum propped his feet on his desk. He surveyed the class in front of him.
These, surely, were children. Their dim eyes held nothing of importance. Their minds too weak to focus on the class in front of them. Their egos foolish enough to believe they could pass notes right under his nose without his knowledge. Foolish children.
A hand raised, catching his attention. He followed the arm down to the body of a girl. She had auburn hair and brown eyes, and wore a timid but determined expression.
"Yes?" Mr. Rubrum asked curiously.
The girl cleared her throat. "We're not supposed to light candles in the classroom. It's a fire hazard." She explained.
Mr. Rubrum grinned. "Is it now?"
The girl paused before nodding. "You should blow it out before you get in trouble."
Mr. Rubrum stopped walking. He turned and eyes the class of juniors in front of him. "I'll get in trouble, you say?"
The girl nodded, now less sure of herself.
Mr. Rubrum smiled and lifted the candle to his lips. With a gentle breath he blew it out as he began walking towards the girl. She shrunk back slightly in her seat. The rest of the class watched in confusion.
Upon reaching the girl, he lifted her arm up roughly. "No more trouble than those who disrespect me." And with that he poured hot candLe wax in her hair.
She let out a yip and yanked herself away. "What the hell?"
Mr. Rubrum walked quietly back to his desk, rearranging his things as the class behind him became tumultuous.
Once he had gathered all his things, he turned and slammed a hand on his desk, silencing the children. "Now, know this. I'm leaving. I'm moving to a new school. I'm not your problem anymore. So don't make me your problem."
The children gaped as Mr. Rubrum simply left. Nobody spoke. Nobody moved. All were still too paralyzed with fear of the man who's presence was a promise of destruction.
A few minutes pass, and one of the boys turns to the class. "What should we do?"
"We should tell the principal!" Exclaimed one girl.
"No! We can't. He's leaving and he won't bother us again. I don't want him needing a reason to come back." Reasoned the girl with the candle burn.
The students began to gather their things and exit the classroom. One boy stopped the candle burn girl. "Maybe we should tell someone. What if he does something worse to some other kids?"
She sighs. "Do you even hear yourself? Some other kids. Not us. Not our problem. Not anymore."
With that she leaves, taking her candle wax burn and her selfish feelings with her.
Three months later
Abigor leaned against his car. It sat ostentatiously in a high school parking lot. It was a nice car. And it certainly didn't belong where it landed.
"And you're sure you won't cause me problems?" Vice Principal Wang inquired. He was an Asian man in his late fifties, and his eyes were soft and kind. Hard to believe he and Abigor were old acquaintances.
"I promise you." Abigor said with a calm smile.
Wang lifted an eyebrow. "You promise you won't cause me problems?"
Abigor rested a large, veined hand on Wang's shoulder. "I promise you won't hear of it if I do."
Wang frowned. "Don't make me regret this."
Abigor said nothing more as Wang left back for the school building to retrieve the last of the paperwork. The sun glared down at him, warning him to stay away from this happy place.
Only a whir like the sound of bike wheels snapped him out of his trance. He shaded his eyes to look down at what was coming; A pale pink bike pedaled up the path to the school. Seated upon it was a girl. Her outfit consisted of a white cropped tank top under an over sized pastel pink sweater. She wore a white, pleated miniskirt paired with white and pink knee socks and white sneakers. Her face was hidden by large, round black sunglasses. Her hair was shoulder length. Curly. Dark brown.
Abigor couldn't tear his eyes away as the bike came to a stop right in front of him. The rider got off, and he could a see a lollipop between her rosy lips. She was extremely short. Probably not even five feet tall. She held the handlebars of her bike as she glanced up at him. She slowly removed the pink lollipop from her mouth.
"You look like a creep."
Abigor was jarred out of his fantasy by her words. "Excuse me?"
The girl removed her sunglasses to reveal a freckled face and green eyes. "I said you look like a creep. You're in a high school parking lot after hours, wearing all black, and your car windows are tinted."
Abigor crossed his arms. "I'm not a creep. I'm waiting for someone."
"Who? Your drug dealer?" She teased. Then she studied him more closely. "No, wait let me guess, you're the drug dealer."
Abigor pushed off his car and semi-crouched to be level with her. "No. I am not a drug dealer. But you should be careful who you talk to."
The girl stepped a bit closer. "I'm careful. I don't really think you're a drug dealer. If I thought you were, I wouldn't have stopped."
"And why did you stop?" He asked, leaning closer.
She swallowed. "I'm just here to pick up a form. I was supposed to get it yesterday, but I was sick."
Abigor ran his eyes over her frame. "How old are you little girl?"
"Little girl? I'm almost seventeen. And how old are you?" She shot back.
"Thirty-eight." He evenly replied.
She feigned a smile. "Really? Well that just makes you twice as creepy now doesn't it?"
Abigor grinned and reached out a hand to hold onto her bike. "Then why are you still talking to me?"
The girl frowned and crossed her arms. A war of emotions crossed her battle-beaten face. "I don't like silence."
"You don't?" He inquired curiously.
"No, I don't. Do you have a problem with that. Creepy drug dealer man?" She prodded.
Abigor crouched lower until he was completely level with her. "Not at all. But I'd watch how you speak to me. I have impeccable memory. Wouldn't want that getting you in any trouble."
She sucked in a breath before trying to take a step back, only to be stuck against the Vice Principal's car. "You can't hurt me."
Abigor leaned closer until his lips brushed against her ear. "So sure of ourselves, aren't we? I don't think you want to test out that theory though. There's more than one way to hurt someone."
The girl raised her chin defiantly. "Back away now."
Abigor did as she asked with hands raised in innocence.
"Rubrum, I have those for-" Wang cut off when he spotted the odd pair stood together. "Uh, I have that form you needed. Miss Rosea what can I do for you?"
The Miss Rosea in question turned to Wang. "I just came by to get that field trip permission slip form. I was sick the past few days and wasn't able to get my hands on it."
Wang nodded, his face now a good few shades darker as he glanced between Mr. Rubrum and Miss Rosea. "Yes, that'll be in the front office. If you come with me, I can unlock it for you."
She nodded and stepped away from Mr. Rubrum. "It was nice meeting you, although I didn't catch your name."
Abigor grinned. "Just call me Mr. Rubrum, but this isn't goodbye just yet. I think I'll tag along and fill out my form in the front office. Air conditioning sounds so appetizing after standing out here so long."
Wang glared at him before reluctantly agreeing. The three oddities made their way inside the building.
As they walked, Mr. Rubrum turned to Miss. Rosea. "I was never informed of your first name."
She glanced back up at him before stopping a moment. She took her sunglasses and slid them into his pocket before making eye contact with him. "Lovanna."
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The tick of the clock seemed deafening. Every instinct in Lovanna screamed to speak, yell, recite poetry, or make other noise to fill the empty air.
Her small hands twitched with anxiety as Wang searched for the paper. To keep herself occupied, she began a game of walking backwards and then forwards in intervals of three steps. On her fifth excursion, she bumped straight into Mr. Rubrum's rock hard chest. Before she could right herself, he slipped and arm around her and did so himself. She brushed herself off, expecting him to release his hands, but they lingered through her hair before leaving.
She turned quickly. Mr. Rubrum's face was devoid of emotion. His eyes bore into hers with such a dark intensity. She could feel herself shrinking into submission.
"I found it!"
Lovanna jumped away from the intimidating man as quickly as she could. "Great, thank you Mr. Wang. I'll be sure to turn this in first thing Monday."
"No trouble at all. You may want to hurry though, it's supposed to rain later." Mr. Wang warned her.
She nodded and waved goodbye as she left the office. As she was leaving, she happened to catch a snippet of Mr. Wang and Mr. Rubrum's conversation.
Mr. Wang began with, "Are you sure about this? I already have a bad feeling."
"If I wasn't sure before, I certainly am now." Mr. Rubrum replied in his gravelly voice.
What are they talking about? Lovanna wondered. She needn't have wondered much more however. For before long, she'd know perfectly well what they spoke of.
Mr. Rubrum leaned on the windowsill, watching Lovanna depart on her bicycle. He slipped his hand into his pocket and felt her sunglasses. Her skirt blew up slightly with the wind, and his hand tightened on the glasses. Yes. He was sure.
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Hey you guys! It feels really great to be back and writing again. This story is much different from my biker series. I will be continuing that, just not for some time.
NOTE: This story is not the romanticizing illegal relationships. Lovanna is a sixteen year old girl. She is young and impressionable. She is by no means unintelligent, but she is curious. Mr. Rubrum is not a good person. He's selfish, arrogant, and displays predator like qualities. There is romance in this book, but not necessarily between Abigor and Lovanna. You'll simply have to read to find out what I mean by that.
Hope you enjoyed<3