Vanilla & Smoke || A.I.

Unlit.

Unlit.
/un lit/
Adjective
1. Not provided with lighting 

~~~

  When Thora got to Mr.Irwin's English class, she was a little rattled. It had been... an interesting morning.

  There were already a few people sitting in the classroom, so she went to her seat without saying anything to the teacher. It felt weird, seeing him in his suit again behind his desk, when just the day before she'd seen him slouching against his kitchen counter. 

  The class went by smoothly. Calum had gotten a sort of plague, and was at home sick and miserable. Thora didn't want to be around bossy sick Calum, so she came to school without him. 

  Maybe that's why Mr.Tomlinson had singled her out that morning. 

  The class was five minutes to over when Mr.Irwin stood and announced the class was dismissed at the bell, and not to leave any sooner. "Miss Faye, would you come help me? I need to go to the teachers lounge to get something." 

  It seemed strange, but Thora stood and walked over. "What do you need?" 

  "Your arm."

  "What?"

  "Here..." he bent his arm at the elbow, and Thora followed his lead, putting her hand on his arm like some old married couple. "You know where the teachers' lounge is?" 

  So Thora lead him to the lounge, which was quite a bit away from his classroom. When inside, he fiddled with some of the cupboards, reaching his hand in and searching for something. 

  The bell rang. "I'll write you a pass, don't worry," he reassured, still looking. 

  Suddenly the door burst open, and Mr.Tomlinson rushed in, limping badly. He hesitated when he saw Thora and Mr.Irwin, but not for more than a second. "Hey Ashton." 

  Mr.Irwin stopped looking through the cupboard. "Mr.Tomlinson. Are you limping?" 

  The teacher looked at his foot. "No." 

  "Then why are you steps out of line?"

  "Sorry, I thought you said 'are you not limping?'"

  "That would mean the same thing." 

  Mr.Tomlinson looked to Thora for help, but she leaned against the cupboards with her arms crossed, slightly amused. The teacher forced out a laugh. "Well, I guess that's why I teach science, not English." 

  This was the opening Mr.Iriwn was looking for. He turned around, looking straight at Mr.Tomlinson in a way that made one doubt his blindness. "Oh yes, Thora, aren't you in one of his classes?"

  Thora didn't want to be part of this conversation. "Um... yeah. First block." 

  "Is he a good teacher?" 

  ".... Sure."

  "Thora's one of my favorite students," Mr.Tomlinson interrupted, realizing he could use the teacher's blindness to his advantage. "She's always so eager."

  "To learn?" 

  Mr.Tomlinson's eyes were trained on Thora's skirt. "Hmm?"

  "Eager to learn? Is that what you meant?" 

  "Oh yes. She just loves it, I'm considering giving her private lessons." 

  Mr.Irwin bolted up, almost making both of the other two jump. "You have to get to your next class, don't you? Oh, I'm sorry, Thora, help me back to my class, I'll write you a pass." 

  "But you didn't-" 

  "I got what I needed. Come on?" 

  They quickly left, arms linked so Thora could lead him. As soon as they got out of hearing range, Thora watched him worriedly. "What did you need?" 

  "Oh, nothing," he scowled. "I wanted to see it firsthand. He always rushes in the teachers lounge in between classes to get more coffee. It's unhealthy, really." 

  Thora nodded absentmindedly. "Now do you believe me?" 

  "Oh, definetly. That was creepy how he kept on moving closer to you."

  "How'd you know he was doing that?"

  "Please, that's easy. I just followed his voice." He stopped as Thora tugged him around a corner, trying to hurry him back to his class. "Why was he limping?" 

  Thora blinked. "I kicked him."

  "This morning?"

  "Yep."

  "Why?" 

  "He grabbed my skirt." 

  They got into the class, and Mr.Irwin navigated to his desk on his own. "You should've punched him too."

  "Well, there's always next time."