Mrs. Ice beams at me, interrupting herself mid-sentence. “Yes, Erika? Do you have a question?”
“I think I can solve the problem.”
She waves her hand to the whiteboard. "Be my guest."
As it turns out, I can't solve it, and there are whispers and laughs behind me, but Mrs. Ice is patient and gently gets me to realize my mistakes. She has me go through two more problems before the bell rings.
Mrs. Ice gives me another smile. She's one of those teachers who tries to befriend her students. I feel bad for using her, but I need space.
“I’m so glad you aren’t shy and are willing to learn,” she gushes. “I’m sure we’ll have you up to speed in no time. You enjoy math, don’t you?”
“Some.”
My unenthusiastic answer doesn’t deter her any. “I would love to hear where exactly your last teacher left off. I want to make sure to fill in any gaps. I would hate for you to try hard to catch up and then not realize you’ve accidentally overlooked something when the spring and finals come around.”
“Didn’t you say you could talk to her later on this week?” Brett asks loudly.
I wince. I can feel him standing right behind me. Has he no concept of personal space?
No. Why should he? He’s one of those guys who thinks he can get away with anything and everything, and no one ever tells him no.
I will. I'll shout it from the damn rooftops if I have to. I'll scream it until I'm red in the face and pass out, until my throat is so raw it bleeds.
He will not affect me.
But, damn, he is. I haven’t been this angry since everything happened with my father.
“I did. Yes, you wouldn’t want to be late for your next class, Erika.” Mrs. Ice turns her smile upward to Brett. “Will you escort Erika to her next class?”
“It would be my honor,” he says, striking his fist to his chest.
I roll my eyes, brush past him, and go back to my seat to retrieve my stuff. Already the kids for the next class are coming in, and I have to rush around them. Even though I do my best to duck out of there before Brett can catch up, people part for him like he’s a god, and he catches up to me easily.
“You think you know your way around already?” he whispers in my ear.
I pull away just before I hear his teeth clench. Had he been about to try to bite my ear again?
“There’s nothing honorable about you or anyone like you,” I hiss.
“Ah, when she does speak, it’s insults. Pathetic ones at that.”
“Would you rather I talk about your dick and how I’m sure it can fit inside the opening of a Coke bottle?”
“As much as you will beg for my cock, you’ll never get it, never taste it, lick it, suck it, ride it.”
“I don’t want—”
He just smirks. “You do.”
I inhale deeply and try to move ahead, but the crush of people in the hallway prevents me. They part for Brett and Brett alone.
“This is my school, my rules,” Brett states. “You’ll learn that soon enough.”
“And you’ll learn soon enough that I don’t take orders,” I say through gritted teeth.
“You just haven’t been given the right kind of orders.”
“If you think that I’m into BDSM, you’re wrong.”