Teachers Pet

42: Don't Do This

        My knee shook up and down uncontrollably as I sat at my table. I was sunken into my chair with my arms folded. My focus was only on the clock above Jake's desk. I only focused on the second hand as it ticked it's way around. Five minutes had gone by which meant I had thirty-five more minutes to go. Breaking that down, it meant I had to count five minutes seven more times and then first period was over. Seven more times and then I would bolt out the back door and run to second period as fast as I could. Maybe if I was fast enough, no one would notice it was me until I'd already sprinted past them. I'd burst through those auditorium doors and sit as far away from everyone as I possibly could. Mrs. Burns would scowl at me, but she'd have to understand why. She'd have to. We have never seen eye to eye before, but I needed her to just allow me to sit out on today's lesson or whatever she would have going on today. Was the play still happening even after her leading roles went missing in action? I'm sure she had no problem replacing me and Nolan with Bailey and Dean. That was perfectly fine with me.

       The second bell for first period rang. As it drew out, Cassie came sliding into class with a victorious smile on her face. When the bell ended, I noticed Jake roll his eyes at the back of Cassie's head. Cassie just did miss becoming late. She blew a wild strand of hair out of her face as she made her way to the back of the class. My breath caught when she looked up to our table and met my gaze. She stopped so suddenly it looked almost as if she'd hit an invisible wall. That victorious grin she had been wearing had vanished completely. She stared at me with such animosity. Try as I may, I couldn't avert my eyes. For a second I thought she would charge and get as many hits in as she could before someone pulled her off of me. Who would do it though? I found the will power to look around. Everyone was watching or was now turning to see why Cassie was glaring towards the back of the class. Just from the expressions on everyone's face, I could tell they were assessing the situation like I was. I knew right there and then I had no one in my corner.

       "Miss Fray. Take a seat or leave." Jake's voice broke the intensity of the silence. She'd only been standing there for a moment, but it felt like she'd been glaring at me longer. I flinched when she blew a bubble and let it pop loudly in my direction. A gesture that I acknowledged as her telling me where we stood. We were no longer friends or even acquaintances. I was okay with being less than a stranger to Cassie. We'd never really known each other that well before anyway. If I was being completely honest with myself though, it stung more than I thought it would to have her react so badly to me as she had.

       She sauntered toward our table, blowing another bubble but not popping it this time. I was still holding my breath as she let her book bag slid off her shoulders onto the ground. I forced myself to not look up at her. My eyes focused on the untied shoelace of my right shoe. An aglet was missing and left one end frayed. It wasn't enough to distract though. In my peripheral vision, Cassie was taking a seat, never taking her eyes off me. I felt the harsh vibration under me as she scooted her chair to the far end of the table. I wanted to do the same, to put more distance between us. Something kept me from doing so. Drawing more attention to myself wasn't very wise right now.

       "Anyone else?" Jake's tone was calm, confusing everyone in class with just those two words. I looked up to see the blank face he wore. He stood by his desk, looking to everyone slowly and carefully. He rolled up his sleeves before casually putting his hands in his pockets. "Before we start class, does anyone else feel the need to project their distaste for miss Harper?" I swallowed hard as a handful of students dared to look back at me. The second they did, Jake took his hands out of his pocket to slam a hand down on his desk. Every one of us flinched or gasped at the sound the impact made. He kept his hand on the desk, still wearing that blank face. My hands were shaking so I hid them under the table. I caught Cassie's attention. She eyed them under the table for a moment before looking back to Jake.