Teaching | Eddie Munson

The Troublemaker

As Victoria stepped out of Ms. Kelley’s office, the weight of the conversation hung heavily in the air. She knew she wouldn’t be able to avoid the conversation with her forever, especially since those sessions were supposed to be a regular occurrence in the next two weeks. Just as she turned to head down the hallway, her heart skipped a beat. There, leaning against the wall with an easy smile that somehow managed to cut through the dark clouds in her mind, was Eddie. She felt a rush of comfort seeing him, as per usual.

“Vee.” he said, pushing himself off the wall and stepping closer, his eyes warm. “I was looking for you. Lucas told me Jason’s been bragging about getting you expelled.”

“Still stalking me, I see.” she replied, forcing a smile despite the weight pressing on her chest. “I’ve just been given a two-week suspension.”

“For the punch? This dipshit…” He started, but his tone quickly softened as he reached for her hand, noticing the look of distress on her face. “It’s not fair.”

Victoria felt a flutter in her chest at his touch. “I know, but it is what it is. I don’t want to drag you into my mess, though.”

“You’re not dragging me into anything. I want to be here for you, no matter what.” He stepped closer, his words sincere as his eyes searched hers. “I can take you home if you want. I’m done with classes for today anyway.”

“Are you, Munson? Or just looking for an excuse to bail?” Vic teased, raising an eyebrow. Eddie met her gaze with a roguish grin that sent warmth fluttering through her chest, the mischief in his eyes making it impossible to resist his charm.

“Isn’t spending time with you the perfect reason for that?”

As they began to walk down the hallway together, Eddie's hand still gently clasped around hers, he glanced over with a playful grin. "You know, maybe I’ll just skip school for the next two weeks and keep you company. We could do something way more fun than sitting through boring classes."

Victoria chuckled softly, shaking her head. However tempting the vision of spending some alone time with him was, she couldn’t let him do it. "Eddie, you can’t. You're finally getting your grades up, and you know it’s important. Don’t throw it away for me."

His face softened, the grin replaced by a more serious expression. "You’re more important to me than any of that."

"I know." she said, squeezing his hand gently. "But just because I’m in trouble, doesn’t mean you have to as well... I'll be fine. Just keep showing up, and I’ll be counting the days till I’m back."

Eddie let out a dramatic sigh, but a small smile appeared on his face.

The walk to the parking lot was quiet, but not  uncomfortable. Victoria could feel Eddie’s unspoken support with every step. He didn’t push her for details or make her talk about what had just happened, and for that, she was grateful. But as they reached Eddie’s van, Victoria’s sense of calm quickly disappeared. Standing near his own car, leaning against the hood with a smirk, was Carver.

Jason’s eyes lit up as he spotted them, and he wasted no time walking over. “Well, well, if it isn’t the queen of bad decisions and her worst decision next to her.” he called out, his voice full of satisfaction.

Victoria clenched her fists at her sides, but Eddie instinctively stepped in front of her, shielding her from Jason. “What do you want, Carver?” Eddie asked, his voice tense.

Jason's grin widened as he looked past Eddie, directly at Victoria. “I just wanted to see how our little troublemaker is handling her well-deserved punishment.” he sneered. “Suspension, huh? Should’ve been expelled if you ask me.”