The Perfect Family

Awry

Vincent:

The classroom became as silent as a mausoleum as I entered it with the mop in my hand.  My eyes landed on the pool of orange vomit in the back of the room, and I made sure to keep my head down as I began to clean it up.  The urge to run to Emily and take her into my arms right then and there was unbearable, but I had to maintain my composure for a little while longer.  The time to hold her would come soon enough and I couldn't ruin it now.

"Okay, class."  Emily said, "Let's go back to reading our novel.  Trevor, would you read chapter two?"

"Can't you pick someone else?"  The boy whined, "I hate reading this boring garbage."

My ears pricked up at the sound of the annoying and familiar voice, and I glanced over to see that it was that little prick that Cora was dating.  He was staring ahead at Emily with a smug smirk on his stupid face, obviously proud of his refusal to read. 

"Little shit." I growled underneath my breath as I finished mopping up the vomit.  There was a girl sitting within earshot who looked up at me with an amused grin on her lips.  The rest of the students watched Emily with anticipation of her reaction.

"There is nothing boring about the colorful history of Ancient Rome, Trevor."  Emily said, "But if you feel the need to make any more snide remarks, I can send you to the office to see Principal Evans."

"You think that scares me?"

"I'm not trying to scare you. I want to teach you."

"Yeah, well, I don't have time for this." He stood up and slung his bag over his shoulder. "Tell Principal Evans I left your class to take a big shit."

"Trevor, if you walk out that door-"

"Eat me, bitch." The little prick said before walking out the door.

Some of the students started laughing, while others speculated that he only left because he couldn't read big words. Emily heaved a sigh and began filling out a pink discipline referral, and I used the opportunity to walk past her before she could get a look at my face. I dragged the mop and bucket with me and pushed open the door, and before I could get away, Emily said, "Thanks for cleaning up."

'You're welcome, my darling.'  That's what I wanted to say, but I simply nodded my head and walked out of the classroom. 

My heart was pounding so hard that I could hardly stand.  Keeping my mouth shut while that little shit degraded my sweet Emily was one of the hardest things I've ever done, but I planned to make it up to her right away.  He would pay for his cruelty.

The rest of the work day was spent tending to more mundane cleaning tasks, and when the dismissal bell rang, I went straight to my car and waited for Cora to come out of the school. 

She showed up in the parking lot ten minutes later with her boyfriend, and both of them wore frowns on their faces. 

I rolled down my window just enough to where I could hear their conversation, and my fists closed in my lap as I watched the little shit begin to scream at her. 

"Your mom was a total bitch to me in front of everyone!"  He shouted, "You need to control her!"

"I can't control my mother!"  Cora said, "How about you act right in her class, if you don't want to be embarrassed in front of your buddies!"