It's between me and you

Chapter 8

Elena's morning did not go well from the first ring of the alarm clock. Or rather, from the third. She did not hear the first two. But the third broke into a nervous sleep and literally pulled her out of the kingdom of Morpheus, in which for some reason ruled Andrew Ledger. Instead of the usual little wings on the dream god's head, Ledger had red horns, like the devil himself. His eyes burned with orange flame, and he had a whip in his hand.

Elena jumped up on the bed, breaking into a cold sweat. She was dreaming such nonsense. Yesterday's events had had that effect. She fell asleep late only because she spent half the night trying to imagine how their classes would go with a spoiled student. Each option ended with a nuclear war and the complete destruction of the solar system.

And now, hopping around the coffee machine in the kitchen and trying to pull on her tights at the same time, she was terribly angry at herself for rolling her car back to the service station just yesterday, before she went to the Ledgers' house. Why not do it on Friday? No, logic comes into play only when the last train has left, and now she has to pay for a cab.

Quickly combing her hair in the hallway mirror and tying her ponytail with a barrette, Elena returned to the kitchen and sipped her hot coffee.

"Oh, sh... Why?" Her tongue burned in an instant, and it became rough as the boiling water clutched at it in an unequal grip.

On top of that, the phone rang unexpectedly. The girl grabbed it from the table, pouring half a cup of coffee into the sink and diluting it with cold water from the teapot. It would taste like crap now, but she needed it. After a hard night's work, all she could do was teach meditation classes in a lying down position on the table.

"Hello" Elena answered the phone without even looking at the screen.

"Hi, Elena"

The cheerful voice of her best friend, Daniel, sounded on the other end of the line.

"At least someone has a really good morning" Thought a girl, pleasing her tongue with the now-warm drink.

"Hi, Dan"

"How are you? The students didn't get on your nerves yet?" The guy chuckled, and Elena grinned back.

"Well, a bunch of my nerve cells are irretrievably lost. Listen, Dan, how far are you from home? I'm terribly late, and my car's at the service. You got a chance to give me a ride?"

"I was just about to leave. Come on down, I'll wait outside"

"Daniel Reid is truly the best man in the whole world," Elena reiterated her own conclusions and finished her coffee in a few big gulps. She put on black high-heeled shoes the height of a cucumber from the supermarket and hurried downstairs.

In a few minutes the college acquaintances were flying down the highway, leaning on the navigator's cues and avoiding traffic jams.

"Thank you, Dan, you really helped me out!" Elena smiled warmly at the handsome dark-haired guy, confidently driving the car. "I definitely wouldn't have made it to my first class."

"I think your students would be happy about that."

"It's too early to be glad. The academic year has just begun. They'll be relaxing next summer."

"Ooh, tough teacher. Are you showing them who is the boss? Are the students even normal now? Are the students even normal now? Or compared to us, the devils from hell?" The driving instructor threw a questioning glance at his friend and re-directed his eyes to the road. If his employer had found out that he exceeded twice the speed limit, he would have been fired for sure. He even skipped over the pedestrian zebra, getting cursed by a disgruntled grandmother with a bundle of potatoes.

"You know, you got that right about the devils, one of them's definitely from there."

"Oh, yeah? Some big shot, huh?"

"He is"

The girl grumbled, involuntarily recalling the nightmare.

"Listen, I wanted to ask you: when was the last time you visited Kamilla?" Daniel's tone changed, and the smile evaporated from Elena's face.

"Last week. I brought her a few kilos of candy, new T-shirts, I wanted to give her my tablet, but she refused. She said the kids would break it"

Daniel sighed heavily and ruffled his hair with a nervous gesture.

"I'll stop by tonight, too. Did she say what she needed? Maybe pencils, felt-tip pens? She likes to draw"

The man glanced at her tightly pressed lips. Every time they talked about Kami, their hearts practically stopped.

"She said she didn't need anything, just a quick pickup" The woman's voice trembled.

Daniel nodded a few seconds later.

"We will. Of course we will"

Of course they'll take her away. They have to. If they don't, Elena will never forgive herself. Every day for a child in that awful place was stamped with an unforgettable mark in her memory.

The rest of the road the friends drove in silence. Dan, staring at the road, and Elena at the city that was whizzing by.

It took fifteen minutes to get to the destination and skillfully park in the narrow gap between the cars. The instructor's job was paying off.

"Thank you, Dan" The girl thanked once again, and then got out of the car, giving her friend a peck on the cheek.

The students swarmed around, discussing something, laughing and exchanging morning greetings.

Elena had walked a few paces, automatically answering "Hello" to people passing by, when the voice of a friend sounded behind her:

"Elena, you forgot your folder!"

Dan got out after her and handed her a black folder with the lectures.

What a slob. She was always focused. She had never been late for classes, and the last 24 hours had knocked the ground out from under her feet. The thought of how to look Mr. Lee in the eyes and not to condemn him for groveling before the patron's family was messy in her head. She wondered what else she would forget somewhere today?

"Thank you, dear, what would I do without you"

She took the folder, gave her friend a grateful smile and was about to turn away, but he once again ran his lips over her cheek for some reason.

"Bye, have a good day"

Slightly irritated by Reid's rash act, Elena hurried inside the building, pushing through the crowd of students.

Just as the first bell rang.

Why would he kiss her right on the porch in front of a dozen prying eyes? Elena was bound to tell him off for such a prank, even if it wasn't intentional. The students, instead of discussing the lectures, would gossip about the fact that some man hugged their new "teacher" right on the porch. And they for sure will embellish and add spicy details. A spoiled phone might rest in comparison to these juvenile porno movie writers. That's all she needed!