Stealing Cinder (No Not Cinderella!) (BOYXBOY)

Chapter 7: Jack's Lament

Cinder POV
    I’d put the phone on his desk just as I was told to do. I sat in the corner with my head down so Crispin wouldn’t be able to see the bruises scattered on my face. He would know then, he’s smart. Unlike me I can’t even figure out what was wrong with him before.
    He walked into the room and to his desk picking the phone up and examining it before slipping it into his pocket. I was examining him from underneath the hood and my bangs. He was looking at me. But not coming any closer. Just watching. Then he sat down and a pitiful sob pushed through my lips. I knew he was fucking mad at me.
    I fell asleep not long after scolding myself for being a screw up and ruining the lives of people I cared about. I knew I had fallen asleep because now I was being shaken awake.
    “Get the fuck up,” a voice growled above me. I forced my eyes open and noticed the room was dimmed and nobody else was here except Monsieur Kabinett.
    “I’m sorry sir,” I mumbled while rubbing sleep from my eyes. Monsieur eyes narrowed down at me and I flinched back suddenly as I recognized them. He smacked me across the face but I knew better than to cry out in such a public place.
    “Falling asleep in class is not an acceptable habit to pick up you useless brat. I called your father to come in for a small meeting this afternoon to discuss it. He told me you are to stay after school today and I am to keep an eye on you. Is that clear?” he quizzed. I nodded, my head bobbing up and down like a bobble head. Monsieur grabbed me by the hood and dragged me to his desk shoving me to the floor and kicking me into the small space where his legs should go when he sits down.
    “Stay there you miserable runt, second period is about to start and I don’t need anyone knowing where you are,” Monsieur hissed. I nodded again and went back as far as I could.
    I heard people begin to file in and bit the inside of my cheek.
    “Alright now today we will be...”
I stopped listening to the cliched teacher introduction and huddled into my corner. I had an excuse to stay at school now at least since when I had arrived Kalea had almost begged me to. Now I just had to find a way to get out of this room for the last bell. The chair was pulled back before Monsieur sat down and pulled it back in. His knees brushed mine and I shivered silently. He must’ve felt it though because kept rubbing his foot against my legs and chuckling low which nobody questioned.
                        ******
    My back was aching and my legs were cramped by the time third period ended and fourth began. I sat through the last class and when I’d heard the final student scurry out the door I cautiously reached out and tugged Monsieur’s pant leg. He pushed his chair back and reached under the desk to pull me out.    
    “A little eager Cinderella?” he snickered.
Disgust filled my face which must’ve shaken him from his good mood.
    “M-may I go t-o the bathroom?” I stuttered. His happiness reappeared and a lustful glint shown in his eye.
    “Only for a price when you get back,” he purred in my ear. I shivered again making him laugh. He pushed me toward the door and I walked slowly out of it trying not to raise suspicion. When I was safely in the hallway I bolted not knowing exactly where I was going but still looking for a place to go. I eventually came to the big doors Crispin had taken me through on the first day of school. The room where he had been hiding was underneath a monstrous stage and the room had been quiet. It didn’t sound so quiet now. I could hear music on the other side...and someone singing. I opened the door as quietly as possible and poked my head into the room. I could see a boy, at least I presumed it was a boy, standing on the stage walking back and forth to the music while he sang

“-slightest little effort of my ghostlike charms
I have seen grown men give out a shriek
With the wave of my hand, and a well-placed moan
I have swept the very bravest off their feet
Yet year after year, it's the same routine
And I grow so weary of the sound of screams
And I, Jack, the Pumpkin King
Have grown so tired of the same old thing
Oh, somewhere deep inside of these bones
An emptiness began to grow
There's something out there, far from my home
A longing that I've never known
I'm a master of fright, and a demon of light
And I'll scare you right out of your pants
To a guy in Kentucky, I'm Mister Unlucky
And I'm known throughout England and France
And since I am dead, I can take off my head
To recite Shakespearean quotations
No animal nor man can scream like I can
With the fury of my recitations
But who here would ever understand
That the Pumpkin King with the skeleton grin
Would tire of his crown, if they only understood
He'd give it all up if he only could-”
He was starting another verse when I was suddenly ripped from my place and dragged down to the side of the stage by none other than Kalea. She shoved a piece of paper in my hands,
    “Don’t worry I’ll sing with you for the first couple lines. It’s a short song,” she whispered. My eyes bulged,
    “I can’t sing!” I whispered urgently.
    “Nonsense my boy, just follow along with Kalea. We’re conducting an experiment,” Ms. Hopkins said from my other side. The song ended and the intro to another begin. Kalea began to sing and I had no chose but to go with her,