Pride washes through me as she makes a couple of suggestions before asking me to email it all over once I have the set of eight lessons complete.
“You should head home. You must have something more exciting to do tonight,” she says, tidying up her own things.
“Umm… sadly not. I’ve just got a uni assignment waiting for me.”
“Ah, the life of a student,” she laughs. “Feels like a lifetime ago for me now. I always said I’d go back and do my masters, but you know.”
“Yeah, I think I might be done after this, to be honest.”
“Just a few more weeks. And don’t forget to send me your CV and cover letter so you’re ready for any jobs you’re interested in. They should start coming in thick and fast now.”
“I will,” I promise. My mentor at my last school helped me with it, but something tells me that Melissa will be able to tighten it up even more.
The thought of embarking on this as a real job, having classes that I’m responsible for without anyone looking over my shoulder every minute of the day is as terrifying as it is liberating. I’m also nervous as hell that I’m not going to be able to find a job at all and I’ll have to resort to retail or restaurant work, after all.
“You’ve got this, Brianna. The perfect job will turn up. Promise.”
“Thank you,” I say before closing my laptop down and packing it away. “Have a good night, I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Have a good one.” She waves me off and I slip out of her office and into the deadly silent building beyond.
The only thing to be heard as I walk toward the exit is the echo of my footsteps on the old flagstone floors. It’s eerie and does little to help the unease that’s had me on edge since finding Nico watching me earlier.
I once again look over my shoulder before I push through the doors, but there’s no one there.
It’s all in my head.
The walk to the car park is much the same as being inside the building. Almost all the cars are gone with just a handful of dedicated staff left. And I guess those who live on-site with the boarding students.
Pulling my phone from my pocket, I find three messages from Jodie and open them up.
Best bitch: How’s it going?
Best bitch: No news is good news, right?
Best bitch: Toby said you had a class with Nico. Was it okay? Did he survive it?
I can’t help but laugh as my mind goes back to thoughts of kicking his chair out from under him earlier. Damn, it would have been priceless to watch his smug little expression falter as the world disappeared from beneath him.
But as I approach my new car, a pair of shoes enters my vision and any amusement I was feeling is swallowed up.
“What do you want?” I hiss, lowering my phone and finding his hard, angry eyes.
“What do I want?” he repeats like a dick.
“Yes, arsehole. What. Do. You. Want?”
A smirk curls at his lips. It’s all I need to know that I really, really don’t want him to tell me what he’s thinking.
“Do you know what? I don’t actually care. Just get the fuck off my car and let me leave.”
“Your car?” he spits, refusing to shift his arse an inch.
“Whatever.”
I continue moving forward, confident that I can round the bonnet that he’s sitting on like he owns the fucking thing without getting within touching distance, my intention to drop into the driver seat and run him down if I have to just to get rid of him.
But, predictably, he’s faster than me and his fingers wrap around my wrist before I manage to twist out of the way and I’m hauled over until I’m standing between his legs.