A week had passed since Mr. Thorne went from being the coward who hid in his office to an ever-present force in the school. Word had spread quickly about what happened with Braden—and his father. I couldn’t help but wonder if what I did to Mr. Thorne had been the final straw and he had a nervous breakdown. The day after I yanked his pants down, he called in sick—the next day it was like someone else stepped into his shoes and walked into the school. If I believed in the paranormal, I would have thought someone else was wearing his skin.
The atmosphere at Grantham University had changed. The teachers had more confidence, the students had settled down, and when the bell rang, there weren’t many students roaming the hallways. Most of the ones left behind were running at full speed towards their classroom. I was annoyed by the change. I liked what we had and I wasn’t ready to relent to Mr. Throne. I knew that underneath that new gruff exterior was the same fool I had humiliated on more than one occasion. I just needed to push his buttons and show his weakness so things could get back to normal.
“I can’t believe Braden’s father hasn’t done anything about what Mr. Thorne did to him.” Amy leaned against the locker next to mine.
“Yeah, Braden has turned into a little bitch too. Just look at him.” I motioned with my head.
Braden’s whole demeanor had changed. We didn’t have all the details about the encounter between Braden and Mr. Thorne, but we k
new it had ended with him being suspended. We all expected it to be sorted out in a matter of hours. Braden had always seemed untouchable and his father was a hedge fund manager with lots of very wealthy clients. When he stormed into the school, we thought heads would roll. Instead, he left clutching his hand next to his chest and screaming that it was probably broken. Braden returned from his suspension more subdued and less cocky than he was the day he left. Some of our mutual friends pushed him for information, but he was rather silent about it. The police never showed up, his father’s team of lawyers never came into the school swinging subpoenas, and the situation just kind of blew over—or so it seemed. Other students seemed scared to involve their parents after they heard what happened. I wasn’t sure how my own parents would react if they knew about the situation. I certainly wasn’t going to be the one to bring it to their attention.
“We should skip Mr. Matthews’ class.” I closed my locker and looked around the hallway.
“I thought you liked tormenting him.” Amy raised her eyebrows in surprise.
“He’s different now. He won’t even look at me. The last time I tried to entice him, he told me to stay after class and threatened to send me to Principal Thorne’s office if I didn’t stop.” I sighed and shook my head in anger.
“I can’t believe he hasn’t done anything to you for the last prank.” Amy followed as I walked in the opposite direction of Mr. Matthews’ classroom.
“Yeah, he’s probably scared of me.” I grinned and nodded. “He’s still the same guy underneath this new attitude.”
“I don’t know...” Amy followed me through the door at the end of the hallway and we ducked out one of the side doors that led outside. “There’s something really different about him.”
“Whatever it is, we have to find a way to stop it. It’s spreading to the teachers and we need to get it under control. If not, this place is going to suck.” I sighed and motioned for her to follow me behind one of the buildings.
“I don’t want to get in trouble.” Amy shook her head back and forth. “Whatever you come up with, you’re on your own.”
“Want one?” I pulled my cigarettes out of my purse and shook it.
“No.” She shook her head and looked around nervously. “Actually, I don’t think I want to skip Mr. Matthews’ class—I really need to pass.”
“Suit yourself.” I shrugged and lit the end of my cigarette.
“I’ll see you soon.” She took off at a hurried pace back towards the building.
Even Amy seemed to be impacted by Mr. Thorne’s new attitude. She normally wouldn’t turn down an opportunity to skip class if I suggested it. I started growing more infuriated with the whole situation as I stood behind the building alone and smoked.
Grantham University was supposed to be a good alternative to regular school—it was supposed to be fun. I had to find a way to fix things and get the school back to the way it was. I didn’t want to spend the rest of the school year worrying about what would happen if Mr. Thorne decided to retaliate for the way I embarrassed him. I considered a repeat performance of what I did before, or something even more humiliating. Whatever it was, it had to be epic. I could be the hero that saved Grantham University.
My thoughts consumed me as I stood there and I had the cigarette pressed between my lips when I heard a noise beside the building. I turned in the direction of the sound, thinking that Amy must have reconsidered. Instead, I saw Mr. Matthews walk around the side of the building.
“I believe you’re supposed to be in my class.” He folded his arms and stared at me.
“Oh?” I dropped my cigarette and pushed it into the dirt with the tip of my shoe. “I must have lost track of time.”
“I highly doubt that.” He shook his head back and forth. “You’ve skipped more of my classes than you’ve actually attended this year.”
“Sorry, Mr. Matthews...” I leaned forward a bit and squeezed my arms to make my breasts push against the tight shirt I was wearing. “I’ll go to class now.”
“No, I think you should just go straight to the Principal’s office.” He ignored my flirting and motioned towards the building with his hand. “If you want to skip my class, you can sit in there until it’s over.”
“Seriously?” I raised my eyebrows in surprise.
“Now!” Mr. Matthews motioned towards the building again.
I sulked as I walked past Mr. Matthews. If he was immune to my charm and wouldn’t even give my curves a second glance then Mr. Thorne had clearly become a threat. We were past the point of him just trying to impose his new attitude on the school itself; it was spreading like a wildfire burning out of control. I walked into the main office and the secretary just gave me a shake of her head as she pointed to the row of chairs.
I could hear Mr. Thorne behind the closed door of his office and it sounded like he was giving someone the third degree. A couple of seconds later, the door opened and I saw Frank come out with his eyes pointed straight at the floor. He didn’t even look over at me as he scurried to class when his feet hit the tile floor in the hallway. Mr. Thorne walked to his door and put an arm against the frame.