At first I thought it would go to voicemail and but then she picked up and she sounded out of breath. Damn, I must have interrupted some play time.
“Hey Michelle, everything okay?”
“Yeah. Sorry I interrupted.”
“What are you talking about?”
“It’s okay you can tell me we’ll talk later. Go on back to Chaos.” When she didn’t say anything at first it made me wonder if something else was going on.
“If you’re sure you’re okay?”
“No worries. I’m going to run over to the school and pick up the stuff from my class. Flame is stuck with his ex and I wanted someone to know where I was going.” A little white lie never hurt anyone, right? I was going to the school, but I didn’t need to bug her with the rest of it.
“Oh okay. Wait, he’s with Ashley? What the hell?”
“Yeah she’s here, wanted to talk to him about something. I don’t feel like waiting around to see what is going on. I’d rather get this over with at the school.”
“Are you sure you’re okay going alone? What if that weirdo is there?”
“Bob? I really think he’s harmless. He’s never done anything but give me the creeps and I’ve been around him for over a year now. I’ll be fine.”
“Call me as soon as you get back. We’ll go do a little shopping.”
“Sounds good. Talk to you later. Tell Chaos ‘hi’ for me.”
“K’ bye.”
I needed to get this shit over with, and the sooner I told Mrs. Pincher where to shove her Morality Clause the better. It was a half day for students so I could safely get this done now without disrupting the class. Besides I didn’t want to know who was taking over for me, I loved those kids.
After a quick check to make sure I had the key to my classroom, I grabbed my phone and headed for the elevator. I half expected to see Flame on his way to the room since it’d been over an hour already. But nope. No sign of him until I got down to the lobby. Then it was obvious why he hadn’t made it back upstairs.
A crowd of adoring fans surrounded him, which was really cool, until I saw the skanky bitch hanging all over him like she owned his ass. The only thing stopping me from going over there and showing her the way out was knowing it would be bad forRaining Chaos. Or maybe not, who knew, sometimes cat fights made for juicy gossip and probably sales. Still, I had my own evil bitch to deal with. Flame just better hope she’s gone by the time I get back because after dealing with the Pincher bitch I won’t be in the mood for any more shit.
The doorman held the door. “Can I get you a taxi, miss?”
Did I want a taxi? I’d planned on taking the subway but maybe a taxi was better after everything that’d been going on the last few days. “Yes, please.” Two seconds later he was holding the cab door and then I was on the way.
Mid-afternoon traffic wasn’t too bad considering it was springtime. Of course thinking about spring pissed me off even more. She couldn’t have waited until the end of the school year? What the fuck ever. Would it have killed her to let me finish out the year, I knew for a fact none of the parents from my class were complaining. I loved my kids. Now with a little less than a month of school left they’d need to get used to a new teacher. Stupid wench. I couldn’t figure out why my dating Flame burned her ass somuch. Seriously…she needed therapy for something, or maybe surgery to get the stick removed from her ass. Just thinking about it made me giggle. The cab driver looked at me in the rearview and I shrugged. Not like I was even going to try to explain.
Fifteen minutes later I was standing in front of Crane Park Elementary. It was my first teaching job and it hadn’t even lasted two full years. Was Pincher’s problem really with the whole dating a rock star thing or was it just me? She’d been a little weird from the beginning but I’d chalked it up to the stuck-up private school environment. I’d never fit in. I doubt an Italian from Brooklyn’s shadow ever crossed the doorway of Crane Park, let alone someone who’d attended public school and taken care of her grandmother after my parent’s car accident. Definitely not Crane Park material. We weren’t poor but we weren’t loaded either. Even if my parents hadn’t died I’d have gone to public school.
Oh well, might as well get to it. Nothing was going to get done if I stayed out here all afternoon, besides I had to catch Pincher before she left for the day. Pulling open the heavy front door the hairs on the back of myneck rose like an alarm. I walked down the long wood hallway to my classroom trying not to think about the unease tightening my shoulders. The floors gleamed and from the scent of wax they’d just been polished. Nothing but the best for these kids. I would really miss a couple of them especially. I’d been looking forward to following their time at Crane Park but now that was shot to shit. My temper simmered as I unlocked the door to my classroom and stepped inside.
Apparently they’d been anxious to see the last of me. Two neatly stacked boxes with all my personal supplies were on the desk. She obviously couldn’t wait to get rid of me. Maybe waiting for Flame would have been a better idea, I’d forgotten how much stuff I’d had in the classroom. I’d have to carry them out one at a time.
“I’ll be happy to help you.”
Startled, I barely caught myself from screeching as I turned around and came face-to-face with Bob. Great. Why hadn’t I heard him follow me? My heart jumped into my throat as I choked back the scream. Fear washed over me like a rain shower and my flight or fight instinct kicked in. The smell ofhis cologne reminded me of something, was it the hotel room? Had he been the one who’d drugged me? Was he the stalker after all?
Stepping back without thinking, I needed space. A flash of anger crossed his face so quickly I’m not sure I really saw it. Damn, I really should have waited for Flame. He was staring at me like I was losing it and I remembered he’d asked me a question. What was it? Oh yeah, I needed to say something.
“Hi Bob. I didn’t hear you come in.”
“You must not have been paying attention. It’s not like I was trying to sneak up on you.”
“I’m sure you weren’t.” Yeah right. My skin was crawling with the heebie jeebies. It sure as hell seemed like he’d been trying to sneak up on me.
“Are you feeling better? I heard you were in the hospital.” Oh yeah I bet you heard, you creepy mofo. You probably put me there. Not like I could say it out loud. “Something didn’t agree with me I guess. I don’t really remember.” Maybe if he didn’t think Isuspected him he wouldn’t do anything and I could get the hell out of there.
