If Looks Could Kill (Sideshow Bob Fanfiction)

Chapter Fifty-Six

Chapter 56

Bob pulled up outside the university at 7 am the next morning. He entered the building, and unlike most early starting mornings, Bob walked straight past the staff-room, and continued up the stairs and into his classroom.

Bob put his brief case down on his desk and slumped into his chair. Bob didn't have a class until 9 am, but he didn't fancy staying at home. Unfortunately, Bob didn't really fancy going into a room full of curious colleges with a bandage wrapped tightly around his wrist.

That morning, at five am, Bob had awoken to his previous bandages drenched in blood, and a large red spill on his sheets. It had taken Bob nearly an hour to change the sheets and put them to soak, and then to replace his bandages. Just in case, Bob had packed a role of extra bandages in his brief-case.

Glancing at his watch, Bob could already feel his mood sinking slowly downwards. Bob felt like he had the number 40 tattooed on the inside of his brain. Connotations of 'disappointment' and 'foolish' branched off from the tattoo, like anchors dragging him under an imaginary water line of an ocean made from waves of self-doubt and hopelessness.

Bob felt a lump rising in his throat, but he choked it back down; he was not going to cry so early as 7 am, and especially not at work. Bob rested his head on the desk, groaning. Already, he had a throbbing headache. This day was not off to the best start.

Bob opened a draw in his desk  and too out two aspirins from a packet and then shut the draw.

"Damn it," Bob sighed; he couldn't dry-swallow them. He'd have to go downstairs, into the staff-room, to get a cup of water. 

'Or,' Bob thought, 'I can sit here and brave this headache... Nope.'

The excruciating pounding sensation in Bob's head answered the question; there was nowhere he'd be able to stand the headache for another two hours.

Sighing in defeat, Bob pocketed the two aspirins and made his way down the stairs and into the staff-room, his fingers crossed that nobody would speak to him- or notice his wrist.

Bob entered the room, and much to his relief, nobody seemed to take too much notice of him- or his wrist. He poured himself a glass of water, drank the aspirin, and then left, un-bothered. 

Bob felt rather relieved as he walked back up the stairs. He returned to his classroom, and then sat back down at his desk. It then occurred to Bob that he'd forgotten to take his anti-depressants earlier that morning.

"That might explain my foul mood," Bob grumbled, sorting through his papers on his desk. 

Bob checked his class schedule for the day; luckily for Bob, he didn't have Caitlyn's class until next Monday. He wasn't too sure that he would be able to handle seeing an empty seat amongst the class where Caitlyn should have been - not today. 

It was whilst he was rummaging through his paperwork that Bob came across a stack of papers that belonged to Janet in his top draw.

"She must have left them there when she covered me. I can't believe I didn't find them earlier!" Bob muttered, thinking aloud to himself. He gathered the papers under his arm and got up.

Bob left his classroom and climbed a flight of stairs to reach Janet's classroom. He saw that there wasn't anybody in the classroom, so he entered and put the pile of papers down on her desk. Bob noticed a stack of post-it notes beside her pen-pot, so he quickly jotted down a note and stuck it to the top of the pile of papers. The note read:

'Hello, Janet. I hope you're doing alright. I was sorting out my desk and found these in my top draw; I believe that they belong to you. I apologise for not finding them sooner. Have a pleasant day, Robert.'

Bob turned around to leave, coming face-to-face with Janet as she entered the classroom, her bag on her shoulder and a cup of coffee in her hand.

"Ah! Good morning, Janet," Bob greeted her warmly, "I was just about to leave these here with a note, but seeing as you're here now, there's no need for this," Bob pulled the post-it note off and scrunched it into a ball before tossing it into a bin.

"Good morning, Robert. How are you doing today?" Janet greeted Bob.

"I'm quite well. How are you on this fine morning?"

"I'm alright," Janet replied with a smile.

Bob returned her smile with one of his own, sitting atop of one of the desks.

"When's your first class?" Janet asked, dumping her bag on top of the pile of papers.

"Not until nine. What about you?" Bob asked.

"Mine first class is at eight. Still an hour, though. How come you've come in so early? I'd have enjoyed a lie in if I was in your shoes," Janet giggled.

"Oh, no reason. I just figured that seeing as my desk needed cleaning out, I might as well make a start early," Bob said, warping the truth slightly.

"Three hours early?" Janet asked, raising an eyebrow suspiciously.

"Why not?"

"Because your desk is pin neat," Janet laughed, gesturing to her desk, "Look at mine! It's a mess!"

"Nonsense! You just have a different style of organisation to most," Bob chuckled.

"Yes, of course," Janet laughed.

Bob stood up from the desk and said,

"I must apologise, Janet, but my desk won't clean itself. I'll have to be on my way now."

"Alright then. I'll see you later, Robert," Janet replied, still chuckling.

"Yes, I'll see you later."

Janet smiled to herself as he left. Once she was sure that he was out of her sight, Janet bent down and fetched the scrumpled note from her bin. She unfolded the florescent-orange paper and read the note aloud to herself under her breath.

"Aww, how sweet," Janet mumbled, smiling. She then re-scrumpled the note and dropped it back into the bin.

*********

"Okay, off you go!" Janet dismissed her second class of the day as the clock struck nine am.

Janet found herself thinking of Bob, him welcoming in his first class of the day. He'd seemed incredibly cheery this morning, which had been unusual for Bob lately. 

"Who knows? Maybe he's getting him old self back again," Janet asked herself quietly.

She smiled to herself, thinking of Bob's smile he'd given her this morning. There was something special about his smile...Just...something. Janet couldn't quite put on a finger on what it was, but Janet knew that she was looking forward to next seeing Bob, and seeing his smile again.