Thirty Five

Ruby

I don’t know if it is weird to say this, but I don’t feel like attending any class today.

But I have Mrs. Cook’s class in the next five minutes and trust me, she will haunt me for the rest of my life if I fail to attend any of her classes without a solid reason.

An instance of Mrs. Cook ruining a student's day flew into my mind and that reminder made me rush to my locker to get my notes. As I cautiously and rapidly moved, the earlier moment with Mr. Klaus crept into my mind and I couldn’t help a smile.

So, that’s what intense kissing feels like.

The steamy kissing scenes Abby and I used to sneakingly watch intrigued and disgusted us at the same time. The mere thought of saliva being occasionally involved made us cringe as heck.

But, now that I recall, the kiss with Adonis wasn’t sloppy. Using Abby’s phrase, he seems to be a man that knows the game.

Feeling thrilled, I wore a bigger smile which received a weird look from a passing student. It was then that I realised that the bell for the next period had been rung.

But, for some reason, before advancing to my locker, I looked back and my eyes caught the familiar frame of Abby rushing into a room at the end of the corridor. I contemplated checking on her but my ears picked up someone saying something about Mrs. Cook being on edge since morning.

Once my intent to check on Abby after my class was tossed to an important corner of my head, I rushed to my locker, got my stuff, and made it to class just in time.

Once I had my seat at my regular spot which was right in the middle of the class, our teacher walked in, face looking quite puffy.

The student’s statement about her being on edge made sense and I wondered if she fought with her husband or something.

There used to be a rumour about him maltreating her and I always doubted the truth of that statement.

“Settle down all of you!”

Okay, the woman is like a ticking bomb. It would be wise to take precautionary measures like putting my phone in airplane mode.

I was a bit delayed by the power button of my phone and by the time I unlocked it, Mrs. Cook was already standing in front of me, her casted shadow threatening my existence, while her arms crossed tightly and her eyes glared hard.

“What are you doing, Ruby Powers? What did I tell you about pressing phones in my class?”

“I was just trying to-”

“Get out,” she said firmly and she foiled my attempt to answer her question by slamming my desk hard. “Get out of my class. You rich kids think you can do anything, don't you? You had better see me after class, I need to knock some sense into you.”

“I was just trying to put my phone on airplane mode, I didn’t do anything wrong!” It sucks that she is in a bad mood but taking it out on me is just wrong. And it is not something I will let her do. I have enough issues to deal with.

“Did you just raise your voice at me?”

“No. I was just trying to make sure I don’t get punished for something I didn’t do,” I retorted with caution in my voice.

Mrs. Cook scoffed. “You will be punished for using that tone with me. Get out of my class now.” My brows knitted hard as I returned her glare. Hand stretched, a finger pointed towards the open door, she repeated, with a higher pitch, “Get out, now!”

“Okay, ma’am.”

While soothing myself the way I could to ensure that I don’t do something to worsen the situation, I gathered my materials and walked out of the room. I then decided to take my sudden exit from Chemistry class as a sign that I wasn’t destined to attend a class that day.

I took rapid steps toward the room I saw Abby walk into earlier and I was quick to leave when I didn’t see any sign of her. I tried her number to no avail. And after about six attempts, I gave up and decided to go up to the rooftop which the cops investigating Maddison’s death hadn’t checked in a while.

Luckily, I didn’t meet any hurdles on my way, and even more, fortunately, I had some snacks in my backpack which I dragged out of my locker after my earlier eviction. I was already pushing open the door that led directly to the rooftop when I heard male voices.

I was about to turn back when it hit me that one of the voices was familiar.

'You need to stop giving her false hope.’ The voice was undoubtedly Jake’s and I instantly hoped he wasn’t with Mr. Klaus. That would be disappointing of Jake.

'Why would I want to give her false hope?' I almost swore. It was Mr. Klaus.

What on earth is Jake’s problem? What was he trying to do? Sabotage what I have with Mr. Klaus?

‘I have no idea…’ Jake replied nonchalantly. ‘… you are a gangster, so you are probably doing this because of an ulterior motive you have.'

'If protecting her is an ulterior motive, you are right then. That’s what you want, isn't it? Don't you want to be right? You want to look like a hero in her eyes and what better way to do that if not by making me look really bad.’

Mr. Klaus had this menacing tone to his voice and I became curious about the expression on his face.

'I can tell that you are danger. Ruby can’t see it because she is blinded by your aura, but I will make her see it. You should be ready, I will make her hate you so much, you’ll hate yourself for eternity.’

I frowned as it occurred to me that Jake was once again sounding unlike himself. I could totally picture his face wearing that unrecognizable look.

A loud scoff replied Jake’s threat.

'What if I decide to tell her the truth you are hiding? I know about the things you are up to whenever you aren't in school. I know your secret.'

'You know nothing,’ Jake sounded uncomfortable, I had to believe Mr. Klaus's words. And judging by how distant Jake has been, it makes sense that he is hiding something. ‘I have no secrets.’

‘Really?’ Mr. Klaus sounded amused. ‘In that case, should I tell her about the club?’

Awkward silence ruled for a bit before Jake said, ‘You are lucky she knows you are a gangster.'

‘Why? Would you have screamed the information into her face?’ Mr. Klaus teased.

‘No, I would have exposed you to the entire school.’

Mr. Klaus chuckled. ‘You clearly don’t know who I am. You don't know the things I am capable of .’

‘I don’t care. All I know is that you are someone I wouldn’t hesitate to punch if I am given the chance.’

I almost face-palmed myself. Why would he say something like that?

'Okay Jake, I am giving you the chance'. The boldness in Mr. Klaus’s voice made me instantly worried for Jake. 'Punch me. Just once, maybe twice. If it will make you less angry, do it.’

My eyes closed instantly as I made a quick prayer.

But, by the time my eyes opened, my ears picked a loud cracking sound that had me jumping out of my position and into the midst of the men.

“Jake!” My friend had his fist kissing Mr. Klaus’s chin and he looked like he was about to land another punch. “Stop it!”

They both looked surprised and they separated before I could say anything more.

“Ruby. he-”

“Jake, what is your problem? Why are you trying to provoke him?”

Jake's lips parted, and his eyes twitched with great shock. “Are you supporting him right now?”

“What if I am? What is it to you?”

“I can’t believe this. I am trying to look out for you here. This man is dangerous.”

“Didn’t I tell you to mind your business? Why are you so concerned with who I choose to like? What is your issue what the decisions I make when it comes to Mr. Klaus?”

“You want to know?” He began to walk towards me, his eyes squinted with a certain purpose. When he got to where I was standing, he grabbed my right hand and made sure our eyes were connected.

“Tell me, Jake. I want to know."

“I-” A throat-clearing sound came from Mr. Klaus who Jake turned to glare at. When Jake was facing me again, he gave a short smile and I expressed my growing impatience.

All I wanted to do was enjoy a bar of chocolate. Settling a childish fight between two men is just not part of it.

So, I gave a tired sigh and said, “You what, Jake? You need to stop being concerned.”

“Ruby… the reason…” My brows jerked slightly when his fingers began to graze the skin of my hand in a rather bothering way. As I attempted to drag my hand out of his hold because I was beginning to sightly feel the way I did when Mr. Klaus kissed me, Jake suddenly dropped,  “I love you, Ruby. That’s why. I love you.”