Unbound Affection

Chapter 2

Viola entered the classroom. Fortunately, the teacher hadn’t arrived yet. She made her way to the last empty table by the corner next to the window, with her gaze fixed on the ground as all other eyes were busy watching her. She placed her books on the table and took her seat, then immediately shifted her gaze to the open window beside her. She could see the narrow road and dark woods outside the school building.

Her lips spread into a slight smile as the wind blew and her cinnamon strands brushed against her face. The woods were everywhere to be seen in the town, and the darker the night got, the fewer people walked out there on the lonely streets. The woods reminded her of who she was—that she was not an ordinary human, but a cursed one.

Her attention shifted to the loud creaking of the door. A fair lady walked in.

Viola stood immediately to greet her homeroom teacher, waiting for the others to do the same. But, no one stood. The teacher smiled at her.

“You’ve got a question, dear?” she asked, walking towards Viola.

“Good afternoon, miss.” Viola smiled, nervous.

“Are you the new transferred kid?” The teacher’s red-tinted, plump lips spread wide.

“Yeah.”

“I’m Ms. Kate, and you are Viola, right? Do you want to introduce yourself?”

Viola looked at her classmates, but none of them paid attention. She looked back at the teacher and shook her head.

“That’s okay, dear,” Ms. Kate said kindly and returned to her desk.

During the last few minutes of the lesson, the classroom door opened. Viola’s eyes travelled to the door, and they fell out of their sockets when he entered the classroom. Her hand quickly moved up to her face, covering it, and looked in the opposite direction. Her heart kept repeating, “Don’t look at me.”

She tilted her head slowly to check whether he noticed her. Allen tossed his bag on the table and threw himself into the chair, spreading his long legs wide. He turned his head, and Viola looked away immediately. She bit her lip, her brows creased, as she mentally begged God to put up a wall between them. Allen leaned forward, his gaze fixed on her, and she pretended like she never noticed him although she was aware that his eyes were on her.

Ms Kate did not comment. She said goodbye to the class and then picked up her books and walked to the door. Every step she took made Viola stiffen, and her brows met when she heard the steel leg of a chair being dragged behind her. She chewed her inner cheek and glued her eyes to the opened textbook on her table.

Bang!

Viola flinched at the loud noise when Allen slammed his fists on her table as soon as Ms Kate had walked far enough from their classroom. She wished she would not see those eyes again, but she still looked up, her lips parted.

Allen smirked. “Do you think you can hide?” He lowered his head, their faces an inch away.

She stayed still, fisting the edge of her shirt below the table. She tried to speak, but no words came up to her throat.

“Viola, right?”

Her name sounded foreign when it rolled off his tongue, as his tone highlighted the name.

The others in the class packed their belongings and left like they were oblivious to what was happening.

Viola stared at the empty classroom, looking away, while Allen was staring down at her. Words formed in her head, but they never left her mouth.

Allen moved even closer, his minty breath on her cheek. She blinked multiple times and moved her head back, her double chin visible.

“A poor fish,” he said and stepped back.

She finally looked straight. Her neck ached at the uneasy posture earlier. Her brows furrowed.

A poor fish, her mind repeated the words. She sighed internally, and her grip on her shirt loosened as he stood straight.

She quickly closed her book and put her pens back in the pencil case, ignoring his presence. As he stood there, studying her, she wished she could just disappear into thin air.

“You just took a wrong move on your first day.” Allen took a step forward and, in the blink of an eye, snatched her notebook from her grip.

“Give it back,” she demanded and stood. She leaned over the table and tried to grab it from him.

“So, you can speak now.” He smirked and raised his hand, making it difficult for her to reach her notebook.

She tried harder, but still, her fingertips couldn’t even touch it.

“Give it back,” she growled and stepped aside.

Allen turned in front of her, his chin high in the air and his eyes looking down at her. Viola hopped forward and jumped, but her fingertips only touched the edge of the notebook. Lips pursed to a flat line, she jumped high again, and her hands finally reached the point, but she still failed to snatch her notebook from him. Allen raised his brows amusingly and stood on his tiptoes. Now, it was unreachable.

“Take it if you can,” he challenged. His chuckles filled the empty classroom.

Viola inhaled a deep breath and jumped high, holding her breath. Her eyes widened when her body brushed over his, but she ignored it and grasped the book. Before her lips could spread into a smile of success, she lost balance. She gasped, her eyes closing on their own. Allen stumbled back at the sudden weight, his body hitting the floor. He groaned as the sharp pain rose in his back.

Viola’s eyes shot open when she realised she was on top of him. The moment felt more awkward to her when she noticed her hands clutching his T-shirt. Biting her lower lip, she looked at him, and he stared at her as they both breathed heavily, their chests heaving up and down. Her brows met when she saw his lips twitching.