Callista Genovese never wanted to be part of the family business. She enjoyed the anonymity of being a teacher in a land where she was not the killer queen. But like always, family tends to ruin everything.
Callista was dragged back to New York with...
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Callista Genovese scanned the desperate faces of her students. Her fingers pressed against the stacked of exam papers on her desk as she sighed loudly. She was aware that her exam had been hard but it was passable for anyone who had studied.
"Fine. I'll give ten points to anyone who can answer my question?" Callista crossed her arms and watched as hope bloomed into the eyes of her students. She almost smirked but thought better of it. "Alright. What's the hardest word to say?"
A hand shot up. "Worcestershire!"
"Anemone!"
"Sorry! It's hard to say I'm sorry!"
Callista chuckled under her breath when she heard the last answer. She grabbed chalk from the box on her desk and wrote Otorhinolaryngologist on the board. "For me, this is actually the hardest word."
She heard several 'boo' from the class of grade nines. Caly smiled sweetly. "Why will you guys ever think it wouldn't be related to science?"
"Miss, please..."
Caly shook her head. She grinned, "Alright. Five points for effort."
Students shouted in delight and that happiness doubled as the bell rang. She watched as they dashed to the door, high-fiving each other and having animated talks about where to hang out. Callista envied them. They had wide smiles like the exam they took on their last period didn't just happen. They weren't even thinking whether they could pass it or not.
Callista strode to the faculty room to get her things before she went home. She was one of the few teachers who had classes until five.
"Hey."
Callista looked up, meeting a pair of brown eyes.
"You ready?" Don had an enormous smile on his face. When his words did not have the reaction he hoped, he spoke again. "We're having dinner, remember?"
Callista resisted the urge to cringe. She had forgotten about that dinner date. Yet, she returned the smile and touched her hand to that of her boyfriend's. Her upbeat tone was the sole clue for her enthusiasm. "Of course! Just let me fix my things."
"Okay. I'll wait for you outside." Don's brown eyes lit up. Unlike the girl, his excitement appeared on his gigantic beam. He gave her hand one last squeeze as he exited the faculty room.
Callista busied her fingers. She arranged her books alphabetically and placed the colored pens side by side with even spaces. But even then, her mind kept going back to the giddy expression on Don's face. They had been together for almost a year now so she knew those looks.
And even without that, she could still figure out what he wanted based on the ogling of rings and the words 'this would look pretty on you' these past weeks.
Marriage.
Normal people should be jumping up and down with anticipation but not her. She didn't know what to feel.
