The Mysterious Hero

The Mysterious Hero: Chapter 26

            “I’ll see you guys in class tomorrow.”

            Everyone filed out of Mr. Malum’s classroom, the girls making sure to throw him a flirtatious smile before leaving. I stayed glued to my seat, ready to do what I had planned to do. Tiffany waved from the door, telling me that she’d see me tomorrow. She thought that I was going to tutor Luke in the library. Unfortunately, I had to lie to Tiffany in order to do my plan without seeming like I was crazy.

            Mr. Malum snapped his neck over to me when he saw that I was still there. He smiled, brushed his hair away from his eyes, and asked, “Lila Tyler, are you planning to stay here and seduce me, or go home?”

            I gawked at him. Were teachers even allowed to speak to students like that? Maybe it was a bad idea to stay inside his classroom, all alone, with just him.  

            Standing from my seat, I walked over to his desk. “Um, I just wanted to collect the classwork that I missed while I was out.”

            He smiled. “Of course.”

            I awkwardly idled by his desk, waiting for him to give me my papers. I blinked then asked, “Are you going to get them?” Reaching inside my bag, I brought out a can of soda. Mr. Malum didn’t pay attention to the drink in my hands, but searched through the papers on his desk. I opened the soda can, took a sip, and settled it on his desk. My fingers were crossed, and I hoped that I was given the right moment for sabotage.

            “Yes, the papers are in here,” he said, producing a binder from his desk drawer. I watched as he settled the binder on his desk and flipped it open. A small but satisfied grin settled on my face, and I reached over his desk, knocking the can over. Liquid spilled from the can, ruining the papers in his binder.

            “Oops, I’m sorry, Mr. Malum!” I apologized, removing the can. “I’m sorry!”

            Mr. Malum jumped back from his desk, trying to avoid getting his shirt stained. A frustrated sound left his mouth. Fear quickly swept over me. I knew Mr. Malum was capable of things, so was he going to do something? There weren’t that many people in the school building to veraciously witness my murder that was going to happen.

            Stepping back from Mr. Malum’s desk, I shook my head. “Sorry,” I muttered again. My plan didn’t seem that bright at all now. For all I knew, Mr. Malum could be my stalker. We were all alone, and this was the perfect chance for him to make his move.

            “No, it’s alright,” he said, shaking his head. “I’ll just make some more copies.” Mr. Malum strolled over to the door. “I’m not supposed to let students inside my classroom unsupervised, but you can be an exception. I’ll be back, and please do not ruin any more of my papers.” Before leaving he cast me a creepy smile.

            When I was sure that Mr. Malum wasn’t lurking by the door I dashed to the drawers of his desk. I yanked one open, seeing that it was full of papers, and slammed it close. Throwing more drawers opened, I searched for…nothing in particular. I was just looking for anything that seemed suspicious or out of place.

            Snapping my head up to the door, I licked my lips. I had to be fast and quick. I couldn’t get caught going through his desk. My hands pulled on the handle of the middle drawer but it didn’t budge open. A frustrated sigh left my mouth, and I peered closer to the drawer. My heart beat ten times faster, scared that Mr. Malum would suddenly barge in.

            With both hands, I threw the drawer open. My eyes instantly lit up when I saw Mr. Malum’s shiny phone. Quickly grabbing it, I pressed the home button. A curse left my mouth as I fumbled with his phone. He had set a password on it, so I couldn’t see his information. I knew it was useless if I tried to guess. I had no clue on what his password could be.