Olympus Drive Book 1: Everything is Fine

Chapter 31

Basil

"This is my office, you can watch TV and read your books and color, but you have to talk really quietly if you do talk. No wrestling, no play fighting. In between this class and my next one we'll go outside and you can run around. The bathrooms are that way, and Miss Lisa is across the hall if you need anything, okay?" I ask, looking a bit severely at the three now innocent looking children. I thought I'd be glad Jasmine likes her brother, but now it feels like a bad thing. They have conspired against me three times since they got in the car. The boy has never been outside a jail cell and loves danger and weapons. It's not really a great situation.

"Where will you be?" Thyme asks.

"I will be right down the hall. If something bad happens, scream. I will come; do not try to deal with Titans or monsters yourself," I say.

"Can I eat my snacks?" Dean asks, raising his hand politely.

"Yes but those have to last you all day, we will have lunch in a couple of hours," I say.

"We'll be fine, Dad," Jasmine says like she wants to get rid of me. She's used to sitting in my office, though, usually it's just her sometimes Dean. He sits in his mom's office too.

"Okay, thank you for looking out for each other, I'll be back in an hour and a half, okay?" I ask, "Be good."

"We will," Jasmine says, definitely like she's ready to chat with the boys and be rid of me.

"All right, just stay in here," I close the door, and watch through the glass as the kids settle down to get their books out of their bags. I don't know if Thyme can read. That may be an issue. I'd have dropped them off at school except I don't want them that far away from me. They'll be fine here, within in screaming distance.

"Hey," I knock on Lisa's office door.

"Hi—are you okay?" she asks, getting up from her desk. Lisa is married. Has that stopped me before? No. But she's back with her husband and wants to work things out so I'm currently respecting that. But I really like her. But it's very obvious I don't get what I want in life.

"Sort of---things have been complicated," I say, rubbing my face. I didn't shave this morning.

"Things are always complicated with you, aren't they Baz?" she asks, fixing my tie which apparently I didn't tie correctly. See she's good for me. She's healthy for me. But she got back with her husband because as it happened she's having a baby with him so she thinks she should work things out with him because that's what you do with people you're having kids with. Apparently. That's what she told me when she broke up with me anyway. Kind of broke up with me. As much as anyone breaks up with me I like to be a nice revolving door for people to renew relationships at any point in time.

"Yeah, I guess, apparently they are---what about you, you okay?" I ask.

"Basically. Can I talk to you later tonight?" she asks.

"No, I got a thing later tonight in fact, it's easier to talk right now in the ten minutes before class while the kids are actually quiet---I pulled Jasmine out of school and I got a couple of others I'm sure you don't care why," I say, dryly.

"I do but you have class in ten minutes, no it's fine, you don't look like you feel good we'll talk later," she says, finishing my tie and patting my chest.

"I never feel good and I guarantee you the way this week is going there will never be a good time possible for the rest of my life what's up? You and your husband doing okay?" I ask.

"Not really—I'm not as far as we thought, I'm only ten weeks," she says.

"What---so the baby might not be his? As in might be mine?" I ask, wincing a little. Oh this is how my week is going. Oh good.

"Yeah. I don't know the doctors weren't very helpful but—I doubt it's Steven's he and I hadn't been together for weeks before I got with you," she says, taking a deep breath, "It's not for certain, obviously."

"Okay---okay we'll work it out. whatever, I don't care," I say, putting a hand on her face, "Okay? You're all right?"

"Yeah I'm fine it's---probably better it isn't me and him that wasn't very good," she says, sighing a little.

"We're cool right? All right we will talk, definitely not tonight because I need to destroy public property and maybe commit murder but after that---where are you staying?" she stayed with me when she first left her husband. In my defense it took me forty eight hours to sleep with her that's a really long time and I was proud of myself for waiting for her to make the move. But it was only polite she was staying with me you can't come on to people that are staying with you unless they come on to you first.

"I'm gonna get a place. I think it would be best for now, I don't actually know for sure who the father is yet so---" she shrugs, sighing again.

"Why do they think you're only nine weeks or whatever?" I ask. We thought she was starting to show, she wasn't a lot but that would put the pregnancy later. And I don't especially care because I like her, but I just got a new kid I didn't have before.

"The doctor thinks it's twins—thinks—I'm waiting on an ultrasound that will date it better but yeah," she says, dryly.

"I'm sure it's mine then I'm a problem," I say, smiling.

"Don't say that. You're cool. Now go to class before you're late, I don't really know anything else," she says, smiling a little. Pretty pink lipstick but no other make up. I rub acne scars on her soft face with one finger.

"Call me all right? You know I'm here," I say, kissing her forehead.

"I knew that before."

"Good. Okay I have three kids over there—do not give them weapons, they do not need food---they shouldn't bother you but—" I say, backing out. I actually do need to get to class.

"I was never going to give them weapons," she says, smiling again, that little bit like she doesn't dare to be too happy. But the thing is I like making her really smile. I like making her happy. And here my life is going to go to hell again and everything will be complicated and I'll have to lose her. Why do I know that's what's gonna happen?

"Good do not-------call me all right? I'm here," I say, still backing away.

"I know you are, it's okay. We're cool."

"We're cool," I say, forcing a smile before finally turning the corner and going down the hall to my lecture room. Class. Class. Something I have not thought about at all.

"I'm sure you're all excited your essays aren't graded yet," I say, strolling in, as everyone is already seated waiting for me. "I'm distressingly sober which is not at all good for your grades so you'll be happy it's gonna be another week at most. I hope you all did the assigned reading because I sure as hell haven't looked at it."

They laugh a little as I toss my bag on my desk.

"Anyone wanna summarize the chapter of Foucalt for me---ah fuck me," I look up to see the men in suits quietly stepping in both of the doors the hall. Five of them in total, wearing their glasses. Crisp suits all neat.

"Okay—so I need to talk to the gentlemen here. Let's take this back to the hall, eh boys?" I ask. "Class—you're discuss the reading you probably didn't do with your partner who hopefully did it. I'll be back in a few minutes."

The Titans graciously step out, waiting for me to follow.

"You're really interfering with their education, you know that?" I ask, not waiting for the door to close before I slam one of their heads in it, smashing the wood into his face until it splinters. Another one tries to choke me but I toss him off and into the opposite wall. At least I'll try to minimize damage to public property.

Another one pulls a bar from his coat and smacks me across the stomach with it. I take hold of the bar and use it to flip him over, landing my foot on his throat. Another one swings a punch at me. I catch his fist and toss him to the ground as well, perfect place to kick his face in. Taser leads bury themselves my side.

"Really? You didn't get the memo?" I ask, tearing off the leads and using the wire to garrot another one of them.

Five minutes later, suit slightly mussed and splattered with blood, I walk back into my lecture hall, fixing my tie.

"All right---where were we?"