The Reluctant Assassin [PREVIEW]

Chapter Two

Chapter Two:

My heart sagged. "Jack, I think you'd better be staying back at lunchtime to get that work finished then, don't you?"

Was I really going to be forced to embarrass myself just to out this maniac who'd tried to poison me in the middle of the school cafeteria? I glanced at Jenny, who was pushing her glasses up her nose and her ringlets away from the book laid on her desk. I envied her normal life. She had a loving family and she was the smartest person I knew.

She didn't have to deal with killing innocent people then going on with life as if it was normal.

"Miss Wood, I trust you remembered your homework today. It would be a shame to miss out on the beautiful weather." That 'beautiful weather' was sunshine disguising the bitingly cold wind. You'd still have to be mad to be eating outside in it.

I loathed my response as I slid my textbook over the completed sheet which was just begging to be handed in. This was my best chance at finding out whether Jack really was my enemy, or whether he was just another acquaintance who'd happened to be zoning out at the wrong moment. "No, Sir. I don't have it."

Jenny's head shot up and I shrugged, my embarrassment not faked. "Excellent, you'll be joining Jack in our lunchtime get-together, then."

"Well, I guess I'll see you later then."

"Sorry Jen," I mumbled, struggling to hide my irritation. This just had to be the perfect opportunity.

"Do you both have your sheets?" Mr. Bradley called when the rest of the class had filtered out. I was stuck staring at the unruly black mess that was Jack's hair from my seat at the back of the classroom whilst he lazed over his desk at the front.

Jack nodded, whilst I was forced to mutter a "no," once again cursing the completed sheet which sat on my desk.

"You'd better come and get one, then."

My strides almost felt awkward as I went to retrieve the paper and my cheeks tinted an unflattering red. I wasn't supposed to show weakness, but the feeling of Jack's eyes watching my every move had me completely on edge. What if he pulled a pistol now? What was to stop him, really? I had no idea what his state of mind was.

I didn't know a single thing about him, other than his name and apparent poor memory when it came to chemistry homework.

I returned to my seat without incident, limbs still all intact. "Can we not go get lunch?" It was the general rule - he wasn't actually allowed to starve us, despite how much that sadistic smirk suggested otherwise. Why would you bother to teach if you didn't like kids?

"Later, when the queue has died down," he dismissed, returning to marking papers at his desk. "I'll let you know when."

Settling down into my seat, I doodled on the edge of my clean sheet, eyes never leaving Jack's figure.

I wondered who I'd killed. I'd wracked my brain and the records of people I'd murdered since being in Sheffield, but there was no obvious connection. I was completely at a loss and that just made it even more terrifying.

Being an assassin meant long-distance shots and killing people before they even saw your face: they had no idea what was coming to them, there was never a fight. Never any of the doubts and fears that came with knowing someone was after you.

My time spent mulling over the situation drained any confidence that I could plant this poison effectively. I'd had the training for this, of course, but I'd only ever carried out assassinations with guns. Guns were clean and simple. Poison meant getting up close and putting yourself in danger.