He sent a scathing look at his students, letting them know that they damn well better answer every question correctly and quickly if they wanted to live. The woman probably had twenty pounds of Hershey’s Kisses and mini Reese’s Peanut Butter cups and he’d be damned if he wasn’t getting at least fifteen pounds of that.
The hell with the kids. Did they really need an education more than he needed chocolate? They all had trust funds. They could get by with a tenth-grade education. He needed that damn chocolate. Once his five students answered their questions correctly, he was attacking that bag, consequences be damned.
“Alright, guys, first question,” Haley announced as she looked at her packet. “Who was the first President of the United States?”
Every hand in the room went up.
Jason snorted. “Are you trying to give my chocolate away? Make them work for it.”
Haley randomly picked a student, one of his, and tossed a Kiss. As she asked the questions, they got tougher. Nine questions later, he was patiently waiting for one of his students, John, to answer Haley’s question.
“It was eighteen-sixty…” the kid trailed off as he thought it over. Jason was going to fail the kid if he couldn’t answer the question. Not because it reflected poorly on his teaching skills, but because this was the fifth question for his class and he wanted chocolate!
While Haley waited for the answer, Jason discreetly raised four fingers.
“Eighteen sixty-four,” John answered quickly, trying not to look at Jason.
“Very good,” Haley said, tossing John a peanut butter cup.
“Hey, that’s not fair!” Cindy, or whatever the hell her name was from the dance, cried. He should have known the little witch would be looking for revenge. “Mr. Bradford told him the answer!”
“Don’t be petty. John answered the question correctly,” Jason said, holding out his hand for the chocolate that was due him.
Haley eyed him carefully while he gave her his most innocent expression. “Did you just cheat so that you could get chocolate?”
He did his best to look insulted. “Would I do that?” he demanded.
She rolled her eyes even as she handed him a huge handful of chocolate. “This should keep your cheating ways at bay for a while.”
“You would think so, wouldn’t you,” Jason murmured, unwrapping his treats while Cindy scowled at him. He ignored her as he ate his chocolate between asking questions of his own. He only paused to reach back and snag Haley’s water bottle to wash down the chocolate.
While they sat there, hip to hip, asking questions, he reached back and casually rubbed a circle on Haley’s lower back. He almost groaned when he felt her tremble. Outwardly, she was cool and relaxed. She laughed with the kids and never had any problems carrying on with her questions. He only stopped rubbing her back when she handed him more chocolate, which only happened when she caught him cheating.
When the lunch bell rang, Haley held up a hand. “You’ve studied hard all year. I want you to go home, review, and then, I want you to relax. This is just one test, guys. Just remember that and you’ll do fine. Also, just a reminder, everyone that earns a passing grade of at least eighty will be joining me next week on the last day of school for a make your own sundae party.”
Jason glared at Haley. First chocolate and now ice cream? What else was she hiding from him? He held up his hand to stop everyone from leaving.
“The same deal goes for my class,” he said.
“Copycat,” Haley mumbled.
“Damn straight,” Jason said as he gestured for the students to get the hell out.
They got up and left while he reached over and grabbed the bag from Haley. He settled it on his lap and started snacking away only to have Haley grab the bag from him and drop it in her desk drawer before locking it.
He rolled his eyes. “Yeah, cause that will stop me.”
“Behave. If there’s any left by the end of the day, you can have more,” Haley said as she put her things away. She paused by the door and tried her best to look stern as she said, “That chocolate better be there after lunch, mister.”
“Of course,” Jason readily agreed.
She threw him one last look of warning before she headed off towards the cafeteria for lunch duty. He’d be right behind her since they had the same schedule. Only he had one thing that he needed to do first.
After making sure that she was gone, Jason knelt down and picked the lock with two paper clips he found on her desk. Seconds later, the lock clicked. With a satisfied sigh, he stole the bag of chocolate and headed for his room. When would she ever learn?
“I still don’t understand the problem,” Mary said.
Haley scowled across the booth at her friend. “What’s not to understand? Somehow, someway I managed to find myself in a serious relationship without the relationship.”
