How to Get Caught Sleeping With Your Teacher

Chapter 13 - Hypnus & Hygeia

I walked outside the front doors of the school that afternoon to see it snowing once again. I spotted Gloria in a parking spot; she was looking at something on her phone while she waited for me. I wondered how long Gloria and I were going to keep this up. We both assumed something happened to Micky, so what was she going to do? Obviously she wouldn't be able to stay there until I turned eighteen, and I really had no other family to go to. But at the same time, she had too big of a heart to just leave me there on my own, or worse, turn me over to a foster home. I wondered how long we were going to continue to pretend things were okay.

Gloria took me by the grocery store on the way home so I could pick up some things. When we parked, she handed me four twenty dollar bills and told me to get groceries for the week. I assumed she was waiting in the car. Wrapping myself tighter in my jacket, I climbed out of the car and walked through the front doors of the store. The store was bright and clean, aisles completely stocked with shiny new packages. The employees were all dressed exactly alike, all wearing red vests with black shirts underneath and black pants.

I opened up my phone and looked at my grocery list, mentally deciding what was the most logical order to get the things I needed. I decided to work my way from the back up to the front, it seemed to be the easiest.

As I worked my way through the grocery store, I noticed my phone vibrating. I was getting a call from someone, but I didn't recognize the number, so I ignored it. I assumed it was just a telemarketer. I finished my grocery shopping about a half hour later, and walked up to the cashier. The cashier was a woman in her mid to late twenties, with long dark hair and a somewhat broad build. Her name tag read Christie. It was obvious she had some sort of Polynesian decent, maybe Samoan or Tongan. She made it obvious she was trying to flirt with me, and was watching for some sort of reaction to see if I was attracted to her. I was polite and smiled at all her comments, but ultimately ignored her attempts to flirt.

I made my way back out to the car, where I could see Gloria through the windshield. She was sitting in the front seat people watching. Once I caught her eye, she got out of the car and came around to the trunk to help me load he groceries into the car.

We pulled into the driveway of Micky's green house, and I could feel myself holding in a sigh as Gloria and I carried the groceries in. She was great, but I missed Micky. Micky was the only family I had, he was the only person I'd ever completely trusted with my life. He knew everything about me and my past, and that was something that not even Lucia could say. The dogs were waiting steadily for us inside, and they greeted me with joy.

The rest of the day was uneventful. I did my math homework, showered, made dinner, watched some television, and went to bed. Another week passed, there was still no word from Micky. I hardly got any more sleep. I couldn't possibly sleep knowing that Micky could be hurt, or worse. The more I thought about him, the less hope I had.

Thursday was the first day I stayed after school for soccer practice. After the final bell ring, I walked down to room 814 sluggishly. I walked in to find Gillian cleaning off his white board while humming along to a song I hadn't heard before. Upon entering his classroom, he turned and gave me a smile, followed by a slightly concerned look. I ignored his concern and smiled back at him.

"The boys are down changing in the dressing room. We'll head down and meet them in about ten or fifteen minutes." He said, as he continued to wipe his board.

"Okay, sounds good." I walked over to the window and looked out to see a blanket of white. Personally, I loved the snow. I found it calming. When I was a child, I tried to listen to the snow. It was always so silent, and I was sure I could find a way to listen to it. I tried to avoid thinking about Micky. I tried to avoid thinking about how tired I was. I tried to avoid thinking about anything. And then the worst sound in the world broke me out of the prison that was my mind.