Succubus

Chapter 20: Those Who Can't Do

Chapter 20: Those Who Can't Do

"The fall of Constantinople was led by which Ottoman Sultan?" June asked.

The class looked everywhere but at her. Typical Juniors. Suddenly too tired to answer a question.

One hand was half raised at the back of the class. June recognized the boy from the basketball court.

"Yes, Peter?"

"Mehmed II."

"That's right. The Fall of Constantinople in 1453 was the official end of the Byzantine Empire, and depending on your outlook, the Roman Empire as a whole."

"какая трата," Peter mumbled to himself. A few people looked at him sideways. His expression didn't change but his cheeks gained a little color.

"Let's call it a day," June announced. A few of the students were out the door before she'd finished speaking. A few others were still packing up as the next class came in.

Tenth graders made their way to their seats. June began explaining how the French had at least three revolutions, but some scholars argued for more. She did her, "It explains why they love protesting so much now," joke, but no one laughed.

June noticed that Barb was down for the count. She'd stumbled into class and promptly fallen asleep on her desk. June debated waking her, but she wasn't sure she could. The girl was comatose. Before June could decide whether or not to get the school nurse involved, someone else caught her attention.

Sitting in the middle of class was a girl who seemed luminous. Teen magazines must have come a long way since I was a kid, June thought. She felt old for assuming teens still read magazines and didn't just get everything online.

June explained how Marie Antoinette had been desperate to dig a hole for herself, and how her death had put a lot of powerful families in Europe on edge. The pretty girl in the middle of class looked at the slideshow picture of Marie sideways, as though seeing something the rest of the class could not.

After class June waved for the girl to stay behind.

"I noticed you looking at Marie Antoinette's picture. Did you notice something strange, uh," June suddenly realized she didn't remember the girl's name.

"It's Tara. And I just got a weird feeling like something else was going on with her, not just the husband stuff."

"What do you mean?"

"It's hard to explain. Probably nothing," the girl said with a smile.

June found herself agreeing with the girl and let her go. Afterward she wondered why she hadn't pressed her more.

The day continued with a few more lessons and a disappointing lunch. After the students went home June locked herself in her classroom and began trying to make up new tests. She'd been chewed out a few times by administration for using the same exams each year. The students had caught on and ended up passing answers down like family heirlooms.

June finished the last question, stood up, and stretched. Outside her window the sun had long since set. She looked up at the clock and realized that time had gotten away from her.

On the walk to her car a wave of exhaustion hit her. Driving would be irresponsible, so she made an adult decision. She curled up on the back seat and used her jacket like a blanket. Her alarm was set for two hours; just a short power nap to clear the cobwebs. June hoped she wouldn't sleep through it again. Admin said that if students saw her sleeping in her car again she'd get fired.

June found herself curled up on the grass. She stood up and looked out across a city that had just finished burning. Tall plumes of black smoke drifted off a few of the buildings. A long line of soldiers holding spears marched through an archway where a shattered gate used to be. Over on a distant hill June saw a massive cannon that had cracked down the middle. Some of the soldiers held banners up with Islamic calligraphy emblazoned on the side. June recognized the Hagia Sophia, minus the six minarets which would be added after the conquest.

"I've been working too hard," June mumbled as she watched the end of the Byzantine Empire.

A hand clamped down on her head. June was forced to spin around and found herself staring up at a tall white-haired woman. The woman had four horns and a frightening number of scars.

June didn't say anything. She was petrified. The white-haired woman's eyes had seen terrible things.

A fist collided with June's face. It was like being hit by a train. June flew backward and landed in the grass. She wondered how her head hadn't been split into pieces like a melon. Blood slid down June's cheeks and pooled below her ears.

The woman stood above June, blocking out the sun. She reached down and grabbed June by the shoulders. June felt her feet leave the ground as she was brought nearly to eye level with her attacker.

"My name is Paimon. You're going to help me get my kids back," the woman said in a surprisingly smooth voice. "Nod your head."

June let her head go limp. Anything else was beyond her. Paimon dragged a thumb across June's cheek and licked the blood off. The dream disappeared as the Ottomans cheered below them.

June woke up at home to the sound of her alarm buzzing. She must have driven home without realizing it. The dream was still fresh in her mind, but her nose wasn't broken.

June hopped out of bed and went to shower. She caught a glimpse of her reflection in the window and had to stop. June fast-walked into the bathroom to double check.

June was at about eight percent body fat. That couldn't be right though. Eight percent was for professional athletes with teams of dieticians and maybe some light steroid usage. An ex-boyfriend who talked too much had explained all that to her.

It didn't seem like the kind of thing that just happened. Yesterday June got winded if she had to walk up a few flights of stairs, and today she looked ready for a triathlon.

June didn't have time to wonder about her new physique. The drive to school was easy. Everything felt like it was happening in slow motion. The second anyone veered too close to her lane June would already be speeding up or swerving around them.

For the first time in June's life people got out of her way. They moved around her like she was a general. In class the ninth graders sat up and watched her with their breath held. Halfway through explaining how Rome went from a republic to an empire June got bored.

"Wait here for a second," she said. She left the ninth graders alone, which was something most teachers never dared to do. They sat there, quieter than they had been in five years.

Across the hallway was Mr. Ludlow's room. He was the other history teacher and he looked older than most of the things he taught about.

"Hi June," Ludlow wheezed as she came in. "You seem different."

"Thanks Tom," she said. "Can I borrow these?"

Ludlow looked at where she was pointing. "Sure, just be careful with them."

June reentered her room carrying a spear and a rectangular shield. The students held their breath.

"Typically the soldiers formed lines. Archery was left to the auxiliaries, typically Huns, so Roman soldiers threw javelins."

A few students slouched in their seats preemptively. June didn't throw the spear at anyone.

"If they had to deal with arrows or other missiles they made a tetsudo, which was like a shell made out of shields." June held the shield above her head to illustrate the point. She did it with one hand while the other hand was still holding the spear.

Class ended with the students promising to study for her exam. Over the course of the day June demonstrated why bayonets were triangular, how ninjas would scale walls during the Sengoku period, and all the ways Rasputin had nearly been killed.

The students were too scared or too in awe to complain. At the end of the day June strode back to her car whistling a happy song. She was so high on a good day that she hadn't noticed Tara's absence from class.