Moving threat

7: Mr. Baker

- With all the respect Mr. Baker, the part of my background that concerns you are my grades - I try to bring myself to be as calm as possible.

"For once Genevieve, think rationally"

- Absolutely, you were a good student, good grades, not huge temperamental issues.

- Than we're settled? - I ask and get up with my things, facing the door already and really hoping I didn't hear his last sentence.

- But I would definitely search for answers, if I were you, Miss. Voltaire - My knees wobble under me and for a second I believed I was going to faint again, but I can't, breath and wrap it all up with the golden attitude, leaving as if nothing really happened.

- Wait, what did he say again? - Arthur asks me while we're getting our lunch.

- You heard it, I was petrified - I whisper back.

- You think we should talk to him? 

- Obviously not! What if he doesn't really know about anything, what if he's just speculating? And how could he even know anything? Unless.... - Could Mr. Baker be the one who was there the other night? 

- Hey New Yorkers, come sit with us - Shit, another time to act normal while I'm freaking out.

- Sure! It's Liv, right? - Arthur answers the golden eyed girl.

We sit with Liv and her group from the party, but the yet unnamed guy is not there.

- SO, what's Mr. Baker's deal? - I have to take advantage of the situation.

- He's... weird, not me talking, he really is - Liv sets her guard a little lower while she talks about him - Like, his house is awful, everything is falling into pieces. He has like several cats, and they disappear.

- Wait... but how do you know so much about his house?

- Sadly, he's my neighbour.

Arthur and I stare at each other for what feels like years, but why would Mr. Baker want to kill me? For the rest of the day the possibility didn't leave my mind, why would a high school teacher want to kill a newcomer?

-  I really think we should tell Autumn - I say with my hands on the wheel.

- I really think it could help too, I mean, not even your parents bothered to investigate.

Yeah, all of a sudden I couldn't really count on my parents, and I also didn't know just who to trust, nobody really heard what happened that day at the party, so what would I tell the police? My mom also said it was silly stuff, and that it happened quite often to them. The possibility of all of this being a test crossed my mind for a second, but would my own parents make me go through this only to see if I can handle the company?

- And then your teacher said he would look for answers if he were you? - Autumn recaps the story whilst walking nervously around the kitchen.

- Yeah - Arthur mumbled.

- And why the hell didn't either of you tell me this before?

- I called my parents, they said it was normal - I explained.

- And - Arthur reaches closer to Autumn with slow, determined steps - We don't trust you.

- Arthur! - I bark.

And when anyone would possibly be angry, Autumn doesn't show a single expression for a couple of seconds. Is she gonna scream? Or maybe just leave? But no, she sits at the closest stool and doesn't cut eye contact with him, not for an instant.

- You two are kids of millionaires, aren't you? - Of course, we don't make a sound - But it is so weird that you think your parents would send you here with someone you don't even know, do you honestly think they are idiots? Your parents hired me Arthur, they don't really trust you that much.

Arthur sits down in awe, has anyone been so brutally honest with him, even once?

- Genevieve, your parents believe so much in you, that they didn't just trust you would be fine here, but for some unimaginable reason they think you are going to fix him - She points to Arthur.

- So who the hell are you, Autumn?