THE ETERNAL FIRE

CHAPTER 3

"Page 102, text 3. Marcano will read." - Alina entered the classroom like an arrow.
Ben wasn't even listening to her, so his friend nudged him to pay attention.
Alina sat at her desk and stared at him like a predator eyeing its prey.
"I don't have the textbook."
She stood up, grabbed her textbook from the teacher's desk, and slammed it onto the bench in front of him.
"Page 102, text 3," her sharp look, her gaze now squarely meeting his.
Ben glanced at his friend. He shot him a visibly disdainful smile and began to read. And then to translate.
"I don't know what this sentence means," he said sullenly and looked up.
Alina took a marker and, in large letters, wrote in German:
"I HATE YOU."
"Translate!" she demanded.
"I can't!"
She left the marker on the teacher's desk and stood in front of Ben's bench again.
Silence.
"I hate you." she said, and the words flew out with satisfaction.
Everyone turned to the two of them and fell silent. Ben was silent too.
"That's the translation of the sentence," Alina added coldly and returned to the teacher's desk.
                  ...
The bell rang.
There was a crowd of students leaving the classroom. Alina stood in front of the board, bidding farewell to the students who were leaving.
Finally:
"Where are you going?"
Ben stopped abruptly. Nervously, he turned around:
"I'm leaving, as you can see."
She smirked ironically.
"I don't think so."
Alina closed the door after they were alone.
"Sit down, let's chat!" She casually strolled around the classroom.
Ben opened the door, Alina slapped her palm and closed it.
"Are you a psycho?!" Ben yelled nervously.
"Listen to me and sit down nicely... I mean, if you want, you can stand, but like that you will start shaking till tomorrow."
"Until tomorrow?! What's wrong with you?! What's your problem?!... Are you kidnapping me?" Ben started yelling out of nervousness.
Suddenly the door opened and the staff member entered.
"Excuse me, Professor!" the woman was flustered. "I thought the room was empty... um,... because, um, the bell rang, right?"
"The bell rang, yes. But, me and the student..." she turned to him. "We'll have an extra lesson here."
"Ahh..." the woman relaxed. "Of course, Professor. Well, have a good one then," she left and closed the door behind her.
Ben turned to the door again. And then looked at Alina. She grabbed the key, which was under the latch, locked the door, and nervously threw the key out the window.
"Call for help if you're not ashamed!" She approached him and lowered her voice. "From me... absolutely no one... can save you, sir."
She pointed to the empty chairs.
"Sit wherever you want, everything you see is at your disposal now," she said in the calmest, most confident tone, as if kidnapping students was an everyday occurrence for her.
                 ...
"Ha-ha-ha!"
"We buried her! Ha-ha-ha!"
Some hit her with paper and scissors, others hit her with a ruler. Ben stood in front of her bench, took her pencil case and crushed it under his feet.
                 ...
Alina pressed the pen tightly into her palm and held back tears, mixed with sadness and anger, in her eyes.
A familiar voice distracted her from the memories.
"The pencil broke!" he was as arrogant as ever. "Are you deaf?!"
She nervously got up and stood by his bench, barely restraining herself from hurting him.
They stared at each other for about two seconds, when she sharply took the necklace from her neck and opened the folded knife.
Ben was startled when he saw it.
He retreated into his chair and, for the first time since she knew him, looked scared. Then, slowly and gently, she left the pencil on the bench.
Alina, still holding the knife in her hand, sharply slapped the bench. Ben jumped out of his chair, turned pale. As if he was holding back from screaming with all his might. Still, he didn't say a word, whether out of pride or fear, it didn't matter.
Now the bad boy looked like a scared little kitten, while politely waiting for the teacher to move her hand with the knife away from the bench.
She persistently, sharply gazed at him, not even blinking.
Slowly, she moved her hand, with the knife underneath it, and with her long fingers picked up the pencil.
Her gaze is still fixed on Ben.
He stopped breathing.
Interesting, isn't it?
"The fearless" playboy turned into a marble pillar!
After about ten seconds, Alina, again abruptly, moved her hand away from the bench.
Dead, uncomfortable silence.
She placed the knife next to the tip of the pencil and...
Started sharpening...
Sharpening a pencil with a knife.
It looked more like a Spartan preparing his sword for battle.
She vigorously sharpened and waved, and pieces of the pencil flew in all directions.
Finally, when she "stripped" the pencil nicely, and made a tip that would pierce the paper, she was ready to return to her "student."
With her thumb and index finger, she held the pencil vertically.
"Take it," she whispered to him, sounding, even "friendly," as much as the circumstances allowed. "Are you deaf!" she used words that didn't exist in her vocabulary - she killed him with his own weapon.
Ben cautiously reached out his hand. It looked like he was holding it to hide that he was trembling.
Just as he was about to take the pencil, Alina let it fall.
She turned around and coldly returned to the teacher's desk. She comfortably settled in and noticed that the pencil was still on the floor, and Ben was staring at her, afraid to take it without permission.
She politely smiled and nodded, giving him a sign with her hand.
The next second, he jumped for the pencil. He sat on the table, straightened up, and gave a slight smile to the teacher.
"Do you perhaps need any more assistance from me?" she politely addressed him, sitting upright with her hands folded on the desk.
"No, no. Everything is fine. Thank you, Professor," he finally looked like a decent person his age.
"I'm glad it's like that. If you need anything else, please feel free to let me know."
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