Dark Love

8

At Future High, Lemuel knocked on the door of the Director's office and let himself inside. There, he couldn't quite figure out what he thought of the scene before him.

The director, a somber faced man in his sixties, peeked at him from a pair of thick medicated glasses.

A single seat was arranged at the left hand side of his table, while the right hand side was occupied by a couple and the plump girl from his class. What was she even doing here? he thought.

There was a resemblance between the girl and the woman, so he figured that they could be a family. The woman was on the slim side though.

Lemuel realized that he recognized the man as a Reverend who preached on Television. He generally didn't like preachers because he had discovered that many of them twisted the scriptures to put money in their pockets. This one though had earned his respect when he heard whispers of how he lived an average lifestyle and spent most of his church funds on charity and missionary work.

He also noticed that the girl had her eyes glued to her feet while she kept wringing her hands and fidgeting nervously. The Reverend and his wife however had their eyes on him and their gazes looked reproachful. The question was, what business did he have with them?

"Good morning, I'm glad you could make it." said the director, pointing him to the empty seat that he had noticed.

"Good morning sir, Reverend, Madam." Lemuel greeted and the Reverend and his wife nodded, somewhat curtly. The girl was avoiding his gaze so he ignored her.

"Well, why am I here sir?" He asked the director.

"Do you recognize this young woman over here?"

"She's in my class" Lemuel responded, still wondering what that had to do with anything. He really didn't like this meeting because something seemed completely wrong and off.

"Well, this here is Reverend Anthony and his wife. Miss Inara over here is their daughter and there's an issue of..."

"Young man," Inara's father cut in, directing his words to Lemuel. "What the director here is trying to say is that the examination you wrote with my daughter has produced a result, one you must be willing to accept responsibility for because you passed. You both passed."

Lemuel understood allegories but couldn't allow himself to fathom that what was being said was real.

"Excuse me sir?"

"My daughter is pregnant for you. How can you be so aloof?" Inara's father accused him.

"What? I don't even...Jesus, this isn't happening. How can that be?"

Lemuel had never been so shocked in his entire life and he was one who was open to surprises because he believed a wise man should never underestimate mankind.

"Are you saying that you never had sexual relations with Miss Inara?" The director probed.

"Of course I never did."

Inara broke into a sob and Lemuel was forced to really look at her. This was insane, he thought.

"Miss Inara, look at me. Look at me damn it." he snapped, impatient and she gave him a glance but quickly returned her eyes to her lap and continued to cry.

"Don't try to intimidate my child." the Reverend warned.

Inara raised her tearful eyes to look at Lemuel and his hazel eyes narrowed at her, causing her heart beat to escalate with fright and guilt.

"Why don't you tell the truth about whoever is responsible for your pregnancy? What exactly do you want from me?"Lemuel demanded.

For a second, Inara considered telling the truth but when images of the consequences of ignoring the last dare flashed in her head, she painfully shoved that thought aside. She didn't want to age strangely and die strangely.