“No,” he says, vehemently shaking his head back and forth. “No. You didn’t do anything wrong. I just… I think we need to talk about some things.”
“Like what?”
Say it, Ellis. Tell me, what are thethingswe need to talk about?
“Scarlett…” His tone pleads. It almost makes me want to ask him to beg. Get on your knees and beg for me, Mr. Ellis.
Leisurely, I spin around on my desk and grab my backpack from off the floor. I don’t bend at my knees the way mom taught me ladies should do. Instead, I arch over the table, sticking my ass in his line of sight, knowing his gaze is glued to me.
As I swivel around, his boner is the first thing I see. Its length tenting the front of his dark brown slacks.
“See you after school, Mr. Ellis.”
I wanted to spend my last period preparing for my meeting with Mr. Ellis, but inspiration struck the second I walked out of his class. Finally, why it wasn’t working makes sense. I know what I’ve been missing.
When I’m in that headspace, nothing and no one matters. I chisel and sculpt throughout De Luca’s lecture. He’s smart enough to leave me to it, knowing not to mess with an artist in the middle of creation.
Time passes too fast. I’m finally seeing my work taking shape when the bell for dismissal rings. Usually, Mr. De Luca has no problem letting students stay after class to work, but today isn’t a good day for him. Harshly, he shoos us all away, driving us out of the room so he can lock up and race out of here.
I laugh with Marie until we get to the start of the stairs, promising to send over my address later so she can come over for a girls’ night.
“You aren’t coming down?” she asks, staring at me from the third step.
“No. I have to talk to a teacher about an exam. I’ll message you later.”
As she disappears into the crowd of students, I wait beside the railing. I’m not ready to meet Mr. Ellis yet. I know he’s probably in his class, waiting for me behind the security of his two monitors.
He can wait a bit longer.
I head to the bathroom on the fourth floor. Chris told me that the bathrooms are pristine and practically unused, since it’s unoccupied by teachers or students due to renovations.
Stepping through the opaque plastic sheeting, I enter the unfinished project. The classrooms appear to be identical to the ones on the lower levels; however, these are torn apart from the inside out. Completely hollow from floor to ceiling.
The bathroom isn’t hard to find. It’s right at the end of the hall with a sign reading:Out Of Use. That’s no issue for me. All I need is good lighting and an uncrowded mirror.
“Thank you, Chris,” I utter upon entering, twirling around the unoccupied space. Unclipping the butterfly from my hair, I give my roots a shake, adding body to my slightly deflated curls.
I’m adjusting my bra to push my breasts up higher, when my phone vibrates in my bag.
“Shit!” I cuss, quickly answering my mom's call. “Hey, Mom! Are you on your way?”
“Not yet, honey. I’m stuck in line at the furniture store. But I’ll be there soon! So just wait inside the school for me, okay?”
Exhaling a relieved sigh, I respond, “Yeah, mom. Just let me know when you get here.”
Shoving the phone back into the pocket, I pull out my favorite cherry lip gloss and give my lips a light coat. I want them shining and sweet and too alluring to deny.
After leaving the fourth floor, I saunter to his class, feeling something come alive inside of me.
This is the turning point in the movie, the moment in the story when the heroine decides not to wait for the man to make her his.
She comes to realize that she belongs to no one, and the only one in control is her.
Theodore Ellis
CHAPTER XIII
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