Violet Eyes

Chapter 9

I spent very little time at home that weekend, just enough for my mom not to worry. Avoiding Shinsou was a cakewalk for all of Saturday and Sunday. 

Monday was a rude wake-up call. 

I was anxiously awaiting a confrontation all of first hour that never came. When the bell finally rang to dismiss us, I damn near sprinted out of the classroom. My second and third classes acted as a break from the stress, classes I could actually relax in since Shinsou wasn't there. Fourth hour was my downfall. 

My fourth-hour English class used to be one of my favorites. The teacher insisted on all of us only referring to them as Helix, no suffix, and sported a short, bright pink, wolf cut. They busted through lessons quickly and usually gave us the last fifteen to twenty minutes of class as a study hall. 

I had finally started to let my guard down with ten minutes left of class. We'd already been allowed to roam around and start the homework for a while, so I figured Shinsou was planning on staying quiet again. 

"Iz?" 

I was wrong. 

I didn't bother turning to him while he pulled a chair up to the side of my desk. "What'd you want?" I asked in a clipped tone, my eyes still glued to the assignment in front of me. 

"You've been avoiding me all weekend," he said as if it was new information. 

"And?" 

"Seriously?" he asked, a little taken back. "That's all you're going to say?" 

"You made a statement, how did you want me to react?" I asked, flipping the worksheet over to start on the back. 

"Hm, I don't know, maybe explain why? Or apologize?" The sarcasm in his voice really ticked me off. 

I set my pencil down, taking a breath as I turned to glare at him. "Did you really just ask why?" My fists were starting to clench from the effort to keep my voice level. The last thing I wanted to do was have a yelling match in the middle of class. 

"Look," he said with a sigh, letting his head hang. "I know you're mad about the park thing, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have-" 

"You're right, you shouldn't have," I snapped, my voice raising just a fraction. "But you did, like you always do. You're physically incapable of keeping yourself in check." 

"Keeping myself in check?" Anger was seeping into his voice, making me roll my eyes. "Are you fucking kidding me?" 

"It's exhausting, Shinsou!" 

We'd been so absorbed in our fight that we hadn't noticed our teacher until they clapped their hands between us. Our gazes were abruptly drawn to the smiling adult. "I'm getting really sick of this, guys." 

"Sick of what?" Shinsou asked, leaning back in his chair and trying his best to act like we weren't just about to rip each other apart. 

Helix folded their hands in front of them, their smiling turning a little mean. "Whatever high school sitcom is taking place in my classroom every day. Do you know how exhausting it is waiting for you two to blow up and throw my whole room into chaos?" They turned their eyes to each of us in turn, as if waiting for an answer. 

"Sorry," I mumbled, my own gaze drifting down to my hands. 

"It's cute you think that'll save you," they said with a small laugh. "Detention, today." 

"We didn't fucking do anything," Shinsou exclaimed, clearly forgetting which teacher he was talking to. The teachers at this school weren't the same as back home. The teachers back home were tired pushovers, you could get away with just about anything. The teachers here? They were the pettiest adults I'd ever met, Mr. Aizawa was exhibit A. Helix was B.