Claire couldn't see much through her dark sunglasses. Yet she made her way to the principal's office, holding herself up with the same amount of confidence as she did every day, surprised even herself by how well she had been able to hold it together till that moment.
Saying her mind was a mess that morning would be putting it lightly.
What did the principal even want from her?
And why did he sound upset through the phone?
Claire trembled as the bad feeling settled deep in the pit of her stomach.
The students' eyes following her every step didn't help much either, and she swore she could feel the holes they burned on her back.
At some point she took a turn, and she thought she started to hear... whispers?
Was she just being paranoid?
She stood in front of the office's door for what felt like hours before she could muster up the courage to knock.
"Come in." She heard the deep, muffled voice from inside the room, and hesitantly wrapped her fingers around the door knob.
"You asked to see me, Mr. Park?" She faked a smile and took some small steps to the man's desk.
"Yes, Miss Sky, dear. Please take a seat. Could I offer you a cup of coffee?" Mr. Park sounded calmer than before.
"Ah. Yes, Please." She sniffled, the feeling in her nose not having left yet since her morning cry.
Mr. Park frowned a little at the sound, and politely motioned to the sunglasses on the teacher's face, since he'd made it clear to her before he found them disrespectful in his office.
"Should I- take them off? Oh- okay." She hesitantly removed them and placed them on the desk gently.
"Oh, I'm sorry Miss Sky." He said, noticing her red stained eyes and puffy cheeks. "If they make you more comfortable, I'll be happy to make an exception." He added in an understanding tone.
"Is everything okay?" He asked, placing the warm cup of coffee in her hands.
"I mean.. Yeah, uh- My grandma just passed away last night." She explained, but chose to leave the sunglasses off out of respect.
"I'm very sorry to hear that. I'm also very sorry for the timing of this meeting, but there's something that's been brought to my attention that I simply don't think either you or I can afford to ignore right now."
"What's happened, Mr. Park?" She asked, allowing the aroma of the strong coffee to cheer her features up a bit.
"There's a rumor going around. About you, Miss Sky. Now, I don't wanna believe this is true in any way, as you're a valued member of this school's faculty and respected by many of our colleagues and students."
"I appreciate that, Mr. Park." She quickly thanked, before allowing him to continue.
His words terrified her more and more as he went on, and she braced herself for what she thought was coming.
"However. If there's any chance that you've been... intimate, at any capacity with any of your students, I'd like to know."
Claire's eyes bulged out at the accusation, but she contained herself as she knew aggressively defending herself would only make her look more guilty in his eyes.
...Wasn't she guilty though?
It's not like she hadn't flirted with Felix before, even without actually reciprocating his feelings.
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French Lessons | Lee Felix
Fanfiction"You're obviously more than just my student, Felix.."
