All My Sins

A rose

She did not eat dinner that night, but instead resided in her room. White Christmas tree lights were draped around the large window of her bedroom. Those and the light of her television were the only lights that illuminated an otherwise dark room.
As soon as Maureen got home, she took a shower. She made sure to thoroughly wash her hair and carefully lather the tender skin on her butt where she could still make out the outline of Mr. Mathers hand print.
Tomorrow she would tell her Mother that she was too sick for school. Too stunned by the events of the afternoon to potentially entertain more. 
Outside her bedroom window she could see the rooftops of a few neighboring houses and windows. Her school laptop rested on top of her legs. It had been on for so long that it was beginning to overheat and burn the skin on her thighs.
A message bubble appeared over her e-mail icon and without any consideration, she clicked on it.

From: Marshall Mathers
               (M.Mathers@gmail.com)
To: M.Doc@HenryFordHSdomain.net
9:30 p.m.
I was again very impressed with your vast vocabulary and talent for making words flow. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow.

Maureen became so nervous that she felt sick. Her stomach felt as though it were caving in.
After pondering over it for a few minutes, she decided that she would reply to him. 

Reply: I was again very impressed with your vast...
9:31 p.m.
I appreciate your feedback, unfortunately I will not be at school tomorrow.

He replied almost immediately.

Reply: I appreciate your feedback, unfortunately I will not be at school tomorrow.
9:32
I'm sorry to hear that. Are you sure there is no chance that you can make it? I'd like to talk more with you about your essay.

Her heart started to beat a little faster and she took the initiative to close her laptop. After all, there was nothing that he could do to stop her from doing so.
She laid down and fell asleep.

--

It was one thirty in the afternoon. Marshall sat at his desk and tapped his pen impatiently, waiting for his last class of the day to arrive. Waiting for Maureen to walk through the door.
Once the majority of the class that he was familiar with had taken their seats, he came to accept that Maureen really would not be showing up today.
Although she notified him of the fact that she would be absent, he had not taken her seriously.
There was an aggravation brewing within him.
He was annoyed with the fact that he could not look up from his own work to see the white knuckles of her hand, gripping an ink pen that she held to her bottom lip.
It was truly a sight to see.. The way her eyes fiercely scanned the paper in search of  mistakes, better words... There was a passion for writing which gleamed in her eyes. He found it inspiring.
He fed off of that energy. Today, the walls looked an even bleaker shade of eggshell white and the chewed gum beneath the desks was more noticeable.

"Mr. Mathers?" A bubbly blonde girl, in a shirt that was too tight approached him.

"Yes?"

"I just wanted to ask if you knew where Maureen was today?"

He was surprised to see that someone else had asked about her. As far as he could tell, she was not very social in his class. She always kept her head down, avoiding the gaze of her peers.

"She informed me that she would be absent today, but that's all I know."

The blonde girl licked her lips and checked her surroundings to see that no one else was too close. She invited herself around the desk, by his side and asked in a low voice.

"Did she leave anything behind for me? I know that she stayed after yesterday."

Marshall furrowed his eyebrows at her, he didn't understand. The only conclusion that his mind could come to seemed completely out of the question.