Page 80 of Lesson Learned

As I set the machine for a coffee, yawning as my interrupted night makes itself known, there’s a pinch of satisfaction. Much as I hate being under Creighton’s thumb, the thought my time here is useless has been an even bigger drag on my psyche.

But this is progress. There’s even a hint of pleasure as I think I might have a knack for both roles, as a teacher and as a fledgling spy.

I sit back in my chair, warming my hands on my cup, and dream of crawling under the building to emerge in Paisley’s room, completely undetected.

CHAPTERTWENTY

PAISLEY

Tuesday morning,I again skip the cafeteria breakfast to go straight to class. I have on underwear today, but that’s only because I don’t have English. Tomorrow, I’m going bare no matter how much it makes me squirm.

I want to feel the cloth of my skirt or the wood of the seat beneath me while Conner stands at the front of the room, trying to have the class pull meaning from centuries old prose like trying to wring blood from stone. There’s a remnant sting from the correction yesterday, though it was light enough that it’s mostly faded.

As the lunchtime bell goes, I’m in class with Harrison and he grabs me as I head through the door, hauling me along to sit with his friends and Brooke, slapping away the hand of a six foot six friend who pats me on the head, murmuring, “So tiny,” under his breath.

We’re beside the playing fields, well away from the tuck shop seating where I’d usually sit for lunch. Still, I squint in that direction, trying to find Marnie amongst the jostle of students.

When lunch is over, Brooke walks beside me as far as the science block, then we part: me to biology, her heading farther across the quad to economics.

The afternoon lesson drags, the classroom capturing the heat from the sun and refusing to release it, leaving me in a warm sleepy daze. When class finishes, I gather my things and slowly traipse through the hallway, intending to visit the library for my study period, stopping to get a drink of water from the fountain to clear away some of the haze.

“Paisley,” James calls out and my shoulders hunch, immediately on guard. He slaps a hand on my back, hard enough to jolt me forward. Once moving, he keeps up the pressure, directing me towards a storage room.

My feet tangle as I resist, then I lurch to the side to get free. “No fucking way,” I tell him, turning and standing my ground. “If you shove me in there with you, I’ll scream.”

“Now, now.” He advances on me, shaking his head. “Just want a little chat. I thought you’d appreciate that I didn’t wait for you in your room but if that’s what you prefer…”

My insides shake until I clench them into a solid block. “Just tell me here.”

He gets so close, he looms above me, encroaching on my personal space. I try not to show any fear, but my brain’s too slow to catch every tremor. He grabs me by the throat, pressing his thumb into my windpipe until I wince.

“Are you sure you want me to talk about private business in public?”

“I’m sure I never want to be anywhereprivatewith you again.”

The corridor has emptied, everyone tucked up safely in their classrooms, leaving me alone with James. Not great but far better than being closed in with him behind locked doors.

I shut my eyes, trying to channel someone braver. Someone far more resourceful. “What is it you want? I returned Marnie’s dress, that should make us even.”

“Oh, sure,” he scoffs. “I was really cut up about the dress.” His words fade into a high-pitched chuckle that sets my hairs on end. The sound of a maniac. “Don’t know what I’d have done if Marnie didn’t have yet another expensive item of clothing in her wardrobe.”

“If you didn’t want it, why the fuck did you make me buy a replacement?”

His thumb presses harder, making me flinch. “Such a foul mouth. I wonder what other dirty things your mouth knows how to do.”

And my temper breaks free. “Are you getting close to a point? I have things to do.”

“Yeah.” A filthy grin swarms his mouth as his voice drops to a sodden whisper. “I’ve heard the things you like to do, Paisley. No wonder you’ve been getting such good marks in class.”

My body freezes, blood turning to an ice slurry in my veins. “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I bluff, my eye twitching in betrayal. “I study. That’s how I get good grades.”

“Study.” He tilts his head. “Would you like to go to my room and teach me how tostudy, Paisley.” He rubs a hand across his crotch. “I’ve got such a hardstudyguide for you. I’m sure with your interests, you’ll gobble it right down.”

I meet his gaze head-on, refusing to drop my eyes in tacit acknowledgement of what he’s saying. Behind the scenes, my head races, wondering what Marnie’s told him, wondering what he’s guessed.

Wondering if the guilt is etched so deep that he simply reads it from my face.

“But you’re right. I don’t want to have this conversation with you out in public.” This time he jabs his thumb so hard into my throat my breath whistles and my eyes water, tears streaming down my face. “Let’s go to your room. I’ve left a surprise in there for you.”

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