It's Just Casual

Chapter 2

"I do not like that woman," Ruby said with a grunt and looked at me in misery. I chuckled softly, but shrugged. I'd been convincing myself all morning that Miss Mills wasn't as bad as she seemed and that I had to give her another chance. I was surprised to notice it'd worked.

"Well, she's trying her best. I think we should cut her some slack," I said, gaining the attention of several colleagues. They all looked equally surprised to see this came from me, not Belle. Belle was usually the one looking at positivity in others, but even she seemed to have lost it with Miss Mills.

"Cut her some slack?" Ruby asked and got up. She climbed on her chair and yelled, "cut her some slack?! Emma, we don't need to accept this! There are plenty of great principals out there, I don't see why we have to accept these horrible ones. She ruined my classroom, forced me to get up a half hour earlier than usual and she told me to stop slouching. There's nothing to like about her and I'm not going to pretend anything."

She stepped on the table and looked around at me and our other colleagues. Ruby was insane, but I loved her and I never had to be afraid to get bored with her.

"I think she just needs to get laid," Graham said, with a careless shrug.

I winced. He shouldn't have said this in Ruby's presence, because the woman would most definitely get intrigued by the idea. Ruby slept with every person that said yes and above the age of eighteen, so knowing Miss Mills was available created a new challenge.

"That's not so bad," Ruby said and pointed her finger at Graham. "I'm going to sleep with her. That way, we'll all be better off and I'm one step closer to a hundred."

"God, Rubes. Just come down here," I said and grabbed her hand, but she pulled away. "It's disrespectful to talk about her that way. She's still a woman with feelings."

"I'm starting to doubt that," Jack chimed in with a shrug. "Ruby, if you manage to sleep with her, I'll give you ten bucks."

"Me, too," a few of the others said. Ruby would now gain fifty dollars if she'd manage to get in Miss Mills' pants, but I still wasn't a fan of it.

"Can't we challenge her on something more.. human?" I suggested. "Ruby, I bet you, you can't find out her first name sooner than I."

"I'll take both of these challenges," Ruby said and got off the table. She looked at me and I knew she noticed my disappointment, but Ruby never cared a lot about the opinions of others. Sometimes I envied her for that trait, but at times like this it just annoyed the hell out of me. "Don't act like she's a God all of the sudden, Emma. She's the devil and I'm not a bad person for trying to make the best of this situation."

"First off, it's only going to make things worse in this office, second, you'd never succeed. I'd have a higher chance of getting in her pants than you."

Ruby quirked an eyebrow. "You're straight."

"Exactly, that's how convinced I am your moves would never work," I said, but I realized this would only make Ruby want to sleep with her boss more.

"I'll bet you on it," Ruby said.

"And I'm not taking that bet, because it's inhuman and disgusting," I replied with a soft sigh. I climbed on the table as well, hoping to get Ruby off the table and right when I'd convinced her to get on the floor, the door opened and Miss Mills entered.

I was standing alone on the table and everyone grinned, except for me. Miss Mills looked at me without saying anything, but her gaze was enough to make me blush of embarrassment.

"You'd think as a teacher and grown adult, someone would've told you that most of us walk on the floor," Miss Mills said and I gave Ruby an annoyed glance, but she was dying of laughter. "Are you trying to make a statement of some sort?"