Clara's Undoing

Clara's Undoing - Chapter Ten: When Physics Decided To Take Action

“Can I get two Iced Spanish Lattes, both with extra shots and a dash of cinnamon?” I said to Rita, the usual morning barista at The Coffee Shop.

The red-haired girl smiled at me as she punched in my order. “Got yourself a boyfriend now, don’t you?”

I looked up from my wallet as I handed her the twenty dollar bill. “Huh?”

“You’ve been ordering two cups of coffee every morning since last week.” She explained. “It’s that cute boy you were here with last time, isn’t it?”

“Oh no! I mean, yes he's my boyfriend but this isn’t for him. It’s for Mr. Parrish, I owe him.” I said.

She let out a small ‘ahh’ in understanding. “The gorgeous teacher? That explains why I haven’t been seeing him in the mornings. Shame, the best part of my day’s when he comes in and I always miss him in the afternoons.”

I chuckled awkwardly, embarrassment and guilt washing over me knowing that I’ve robbed someone of their daily dose of happiness. I waited by the end of the counter for my order as I checked my phone for messages. There were two separate ones.

Sidney: Won’t come in till lunch. You know the drill. See ya babes x

James: Have I told you how cute you look when you’re asleep?

I laughed to myself after I read Sidney’s message. She was still probably hung over from last night and I bet most of the seniors were too. Rita called for me when the coffee was ready and I left as soon as I got them.

Mr. Parrish was nowhere in sight when I got to his classroom. His office was locked but there wasn’t any response at all when I knocked so he still probably hadn’t come in yet. I placed his coffee on his classroom desk and went to my usual position on top of the bookshelf.

The sun hadn’t completely come out yet. The sky was still blue and on rare occasions like this, I usually grab the chance to draw with colors. So I took my pastels out and began drawing.

I tried my best to capture the exact color of the sky, along with the little hints of red and orange in it. I’d always loved Autumn sunrises. For me it was the most beautiful sunset there could ever be all year round. It was my favorite season. Most people would say summer was theirs but I would always stand by my choice. The chilly breeze you get was perfect for a walk and you could already feel winter was coming but know that summer still had not completely left.

The piece I was doing was already done and it hadn’t even been thirty minutes since I started. I was admiring my work when I heard some shuffling behind me.

Mr. Parrish was setting down his satchel bag on his chair when I turned around to see who came. He was wearing a blue and white checkered dress shirt today underneath a navy blue sweater vest and of course the mandatory teacher’s blazer with the Bridgeborn emblem on the left pocket. He was also sporting a navy blue tie which I always thought was the best color against his pale complexion. A scarf was draped nonchalantly around his neck again, much like last Friday night but I could tell it was a different one.

He didn’t offer me a smile, instead he went straight to his office and when he came back out, the scarf and blazer was gone.

“Good morning, Mr. Parrish.” I said when I could no longer take his silence as he stood behind his desk and looked at the pile of papers on the left.

He only gave me a polite smile before turning his attention back to the papers on his desk. I closed my sketchbook, unmounted myself from the shelf, and then approached his desk.

“Everything alright, sir?” I asked.

He looked at me from under his lashes, without raising his head, a page of paper still in between his fingers.

“Everything’s fine, Ms. Wheeler.” He replied with a dull tone. “We don’t have to engage in conversations when you’re here. We can just go about minding our own business.”

I frowned, slightly taken aback. He was being mean again. It was obvious something was wrong. Was it because of last Friday night? Because I ruined his after dinner plans with Jodie?

“Everything’s definitely not alright with you, Mr. Parrish.” I commented, unable to stop myself from voicing out my thoughts.

He took a deep breath in and then sighed. “I’m sorry, I’m just… I’m not in the mood right now.”

I picked up the coffee I got for him and handed it to him. “You should try this. I hope you don’t mind that I got it iced. Maybe it’ll help you lighten up.”

Mr. Parrish stared at me for the longest time, a parade of emotions passing through his emerald eyes, and I knew right then that he was going through something personal.

He accepted the cup reluctantly, looking at me suspiciously before taking a sip, savoring the mixture of flavors then nodding in approval.

“Huh? Good right?” I asked excitedly, wagging my eyebrows to try and lift up his mood. “It’s a Spanish Latte. I always add in a dash of cinnamon and an extra shot of espresso.”

Finally, he was able to let out a smile as he took another sip, the dimples on either end of his lips appeared. “I like it.”

“See? I know it’ll put you in a better mood.” I bragged confidently, sitting at the front most student desk closest to Mr. Parrish’s. “So how was your weekend?”

He licked his lips as he swallowed another mouthful of the coffee. “Fine. I’ve had better.”

“Wanna talk about it?” I asked reluctantly.

He pursed his lips. “Don’t worry about it. You should get back to drawing.”

I shook my head lightly. “I’m all done.”

He placed his cup on his desk. “May I see it?”

I bit my lip.

“No, I don’t think so. Oh right!” Running over to where my bag was, I took Mr. Parrish’s freshly-laundered shirt and gave it to him. “Thanks again for letting me borrow it.”

“You didn’t have to give it back so soon.” He replied as he accepted the piece of clothing.

“I’ve been a huge pain in the a*s to you enough.” I said. “Plus, it was already done by Saturday.”

We settled into silence. By now, I had gotten perfectly comfortable with it. After last week’s whirlwind of events—the coffee thing, Physics fest materials things, and the double date—I was confident that Mr. Parrish and I had entered a tenuous relationship than the one we had before, like almost friends. I wasn’t sure if he acted like this with the rest of his students but I didn’t mind. He was pretty fun to hang out with. Taciturn, but nevertheless fun in an easy, relaxing kind of way.

“Ms. Wheeler.” Mr. Parrish called me as I was getting my things to order. “You’ve got about more than an hour and a half left before the first period starts.”

I looked back at him before responding, “If it’s okay with you, I can just hang out here, you can get on to whatever you need to do.”

“I’m all caught up for now.” He replied, walking over to the front of his desk and leaning his butt against his desk.

I couldn’t help but notice the veins sticking out his lower arm as he crossed them together. By now, he had his dress shirt rolled up to his elbows and my mind immediately arrived at the conclusion of how hot he was. The reason as to why he decided to teach instead of model never really got to me. It was as if he wanted to give way to less good-looking people the chance to catch up with him.

My mind scrambled to find something to occupy myself with. I was afraid that if I didn’t, he would make me leave. I didn’t want to go. Over the past week, this room has provided a haven for me and my struggling creative mind and works of so-called art.

“Oh I know, we can start on those materials.” I cried. “We have less than a week tops including the weekends and we’re gonna be gone for the trip on Wednesday till Friday. That already sets us back three days.”

“How proactive of you, Ms. Wheeler.” He commented, giving me a superfluous smirk. “Good thing I already got the materials.”

I laid out my hands in a boastful manner, as if I was presenting something to an audience from a tv show. “Ha! Don’t I really deserve those extra credits?”

Mr. Parrish laughed at my antics, dismantling his sculptural form before going into his office. Soon, he popped his head out like a beaver from whack-a-mole.

“Aren’t you gonna come?” He asked, to which I immediately followed.

“I figured we should just do it here instead of re-arranging all those desks and chairs outside.”

I looked at him, impressed. “Now who’s being proactive?”

He chuckled. “I’m the teacher, remember? Of course I have to be proactive. I’ve got no choice.”

“You always have a choice.”

“Well in this case, I don’t see any other alternative.”

The paint cans and roll of fabric were already laid out on the floor of his office.

“I think we should begin by lay-outing the banners and posters first.” I told him. “And we’ll probably need around ten brushes in various sizes.”

Mr. Parrish looked at me with wide eyes as he licked his lips yet again. He swallowed an empty mouth but didn’t offer any response.

“You did get paintbrushes, right?” I clarified, waiting for an answer.

He chuckled nervously before replying. “Let’s do what you said first. Then maybe we’ll get to the actual painting tomorrow.”

I rolled my eyes at him. “I think it’s safer if I made you a list of what to get.”

Grabbing a couple of blank papers from his printer, I sat on the dining table he had on the right side of the room and got to work on the layouts. Mr. Parrish stayed behind me the entire time I was trying, waiting for me to begin coming up with ideas, but my mind drew blank.

“I’m drawing a blank here, Mr. Parrish. I forgot what kind of banners they put on during Physics fest.” I finally told him. “Any suggestions?”

He shrugged, pursing his lithe pink lips. “You know what, we should probably take a look at those old ones Mrs. Cowick had. Just to try and get some ideas.”

I nodded, pointing a finger at him g*n style. “Good thinking. Where are they?”

“Physics storage room.” He said. “I could get them but then I’d have to bring them here and then back again. Or you could come with me.”

“Yeah, let’s go.” I agreed with his second option, standing up from where I was sitting as he took a set of keys from his desk. He guided me outside of his classroom and together we roamed the still empty corridors of the entire Science wing.

“I never knew how peaceful it is here when there’s no one around.” Mr. Parrish said as we walked side by side, both of his hands in either of his trouser pockets.

I gave him a soft smile. “Told ya. If you think it’s peaceful now, wait till it gets around eight or nine at night, then you’ll truly appreciate the beauty of this school.”

“What do you do when you stay here till late? You can’t possibly draw inspiration from something when you can barely see anything.” He asked. “Do you roam the halls scaring the janitors and guards?”

I shrugged. “On occasions. But usually I just read in the library. It gets so quiet in here you can hear your own breathing.”

“Didn’t you get scared?”

I shook my head. “At first, I did. Horror movies are my favorite and the first time I stayed here was during the Disco Inferno dance, sophomore year. I had one too many macarons from the snack table so I had to use the west wing bathroom near the library and got—”

I immediately stopped myself, realizing what I had just said. I turned to look at Mr. Parrish and found him smirking like he had just found out a huge secret of mine and was actively enjoying it.

“Anyway,” I continued. “I didn’t want to go back to the party so I just went into the library. Luckily, it wasn’t locked. At first I thought about poltergeists guarding the shelves and slaying students who disrupt the Dewey Decimal system and then I jumped onto the spirit of old teachers who’ve already died, until eventually I ended up laughing at myself.”

He gave me a smile that meant he was interested in what I was saying. “How did you manage to sneak in after that?”

“Sidney gave me a key. Perks of being the Headmistress’ daughter.” I told him. “Once in a while, there may or may not be parties happening in the gym pool, and she may or may not be the one who instigates it.”

This time, his laugh was a little more brazen as we took a right at the end of the hall. We reached the Physics Storage room in less than a minute and he opened the door for me. I got in first and then he followed after.

The storage room was an old classroom filled with generations of Physics projects and materials accumulating dust, completely forgotten by their creators. Mr. Parrish wasn’t kidding about the cobwebs because I passed through a huge fully formed one when I began roaming around.

“Now I see why you needed my help.” I said to Mr. Parrish. “Where are the banners?”

He pointed at the far corner of the room. “Over there.”

I made my way to the direction he pointed with him slowly trailing behind me. The banners were pile-rolled on top of the corner shelf which were being blocked by an enormous wheel and axle model. I had to bend over it to be able to get to the banners.

“Let me do that, Ms. Wheeler.” Mr. Parrish ordered.

“It’s okay, I almost got them.” I replied, reaching my short arms to grab the banners but as soon as I shifted my focus, my eyes immediately noticed the huge tarantula appearing from the wheel and axle model.

I jumped back in terror, my foot getting caught from something on the floor and it was already too late for me to try and catch my balance. I fell backwards, the back of my head hitting Mr. Parrish right on the face as he caught me and fell on the floor with me.

My hand immediately shot up to my head where the jolt of pain was beginning to throb. Then I realized my back was directly lying on top of Mr. Parrish’s hard chest as his hands were supporting both my arms. I rolled over to the side right away, propping on my elbows while looking to check on him, still a bit dizzy from the fall.

“Are you okay, sir?” I asked and only then did I see the splash of blood on the corner of his lips. “Oh my God you’re bleeding. I’m so sorry!”

He stayed on his back laying down as he put his pale knuckles on the wounded part of his mouth, some of the blood latching on to them before he replied. “Spiders will most likely be the death of you, Ms. Wheeler.”

I chuckled as I put my hand back at the top of my head where the pain had lingered. “I think this is a clear sign that we shouldn’t plagiarize from other’s work and come up with our own.”

Mr. Parrish started laughing, his soft tenor voice resonating throughout the entire classroom and soon, I found myself joining in. Our laughter filled the void space of the room for a moment before Mr. Parrish shifted his head to look at me.

My hand voluntarily shot up to his injured lip, wiping away some of the blood that trickled down his jaw but before I realized what I was doing, Mr. Parrish had his hand already tenderly clutching mine, his eyes in shock at my gesture.

The way his wavy bangs got tousled by our accidental fall made me see his perfectly sculpted face in its entirety. It made me notice how clear and fair his skin was, like it wasn’t aware of the words “acne” and “break-outs”. And the way it glistened under the limited light sneaking in from the boarded glass windows let me see the hint of rosiness on his faultlessly angled cheeks. There was not an ounce of fat on his face, no matter how baby-faced he looked. The deep sockets of his eyes were contrasted by his high supraorbital bone accompanied by thick, leechy eyebrows that followed its path.

How could someone be this perfect?

My hand stayed in his for a long time as we both stared into each other’s eyes and only the sound of the wheel and axle model falling to the floor was the one that pulled the both of us out of our reverie.

I scrambled to stand up immediately, peeling my hand from his and dusting off my uniform. I saw Mr. Parrish closed his eyes and sighed before dexterously pulling himself up in one swift but graceful motion.

“We should probably get out of here before any more spiders decide to greet me too.” I told, quickly scrambling out of the room without waiting for his response.

As soon as I was out of the storage room, I let out a huge breath I didn’t realize I was holding in. A minute later, Mr. Parrish followed and locked the door behind him. We walked back to his classroom in silence.

“How’s your head?” He asked in a casual tone.

I gave him a polite smile as I went to the corner seat where my bag was. “No permanent damage, I believe. I think you got it worse. You’ve got a busted lip.”

He put a finger on his lip and wiped away the remaining specks of blood then licked them in the usual manner that he did. “It’s nothing.”

“You should probably clean that up.” I suggested. “All that dust in there, it might get infected.”

He smirked as he started arranging a bunch of papers on top of his desk. “Don’t be such a wimp.”

I scoffed. “Yeah, well, forget about infection. What are you gonna tell to your throng of admirers when they see how I managed to ruin that good-looks of yours? Actually, don’t tell them. An angry mob is the last thing I need right now.”

He chuckled softly, shaking his head as he was. “You certain you’re okay?”

Then an idea popped into my head.

“Actually, I’m beginning to feel a little dizzy.” I muttered, putting a hand on my forehead and acting to grab the edge of the desk closest to me.

Mr. Parrish immediately made his way to where I was standing and put a hand on my arm for support. He ducked down to my level, given that he was probably four or five inches taller than I was, and tried to catch my eyes.

“I think we should get you to the clinic.” He proposed in a worried tone.

I couldn’t hold my laughter any longer, I burst, covering my mouth with the hand that was on my forehead before. Mr. Parrish looked at me flatly, obviously annoyed by the fact that I just tricked him into coming all the way here.

He stood there unmoving, with his hands in either of his pockets as he let me finish laughing before speaking. “You done?”

“Actually, I really am feeling a bit dizzy.” I countered, feeling guilty of the prank I just pulled on him.

He rolled his eyes and turned his back on my, pocketing both his hands. “Walk it off, Ms. Wheeler.”