Till Eternity (teacherxstudent)

Chapter 5: Carried Like a Princess

I awoke with the sound of raindrops trickling on the windows. I forgot to close the blinds last night and, although it was gray outside, the light pierced my scarcely-rested eyes. Piercing my ears was the alarm clock that has been beeping for what seems like an eternity. Shielding myself from the cold and annoyances, I pulled the sheets over my head. However, doing so, my feet were uncovered. I grunted and flung the covers off and sprang up only to end up falling back onto the bed with a throbbing dizziness. Anyways, I have already missed nearly a week of school and, though I am still ahead of the others, I am running out of material to study.

So, I forced myself up – slowly, this time – and got dressed. Once I was ready and packed to leave, I waited for the rain to stop before heading to school. Shortly after I left, yet already too far from home to go back and arrive to class on time, it began pouring. That was when I realized that all that time waiting for it to stop raining, I did not even think of fetching my umbrella. i***t.

Running with my bag over my head, I still noticed my school uniform becoming wet and transparent, revealing my pink bra. Now running to avoid any eyes from noticing it, I tripped.

As I was about to stop, it seemed like all went silent save for a voice shouting, “Careful!”

The owner of that voice caught me before my body hit the ground. I was pressed against their warm chest and their bewitching scent – a perfume of honeyed coffee, though way too familiar. Unpleasantly familiar, in fact. My eyes shot open and confirmed my suspicion. Staring into his hazel eyes, I found myself embraced in Mr. Jones’s arms.

“Hey.” he said as if nothing happened. “You okay?”

Fluster burst through me in a blushing rage. “I’m fine.” I insisted as I pulled away. Pat-drying my clothes, my eyes fell upon my shirt and I suddenly remembered. Mr. Jones was staring at it as well. I was about to slap him when a group of business men crossed the street in our direction. My sense of reaction being as poor as ever, I hugged the man I so despised as protection. Surprised, he nearly dropped his umbrella.

Once the men were long past us, Mr. Jones placed a broad hand on my back. Mistaken by his intentions, I was about to slap him, but his next action took me by surprise. He gently pushed me off, handing me the umbrella. I took it in my hand, bewildered.

“Hold this for a second for me, will you?” he said and I blinked twice in confusion as he undressed his coat.

“What are you--”

“I can’t let you be seen like this.” he said with a face that seemed clear of any double intentions. He then placed his coat on my back. Why is he being so nice?

“But--”

“Don’t worry about me.” he said, knowing exactly what was going on in my mind. Mr. Jones smiled, and I blushed.

As we walked under the same umbrella to school, I noticed his shoulder becoming wet and shifted the umbrella closer to him. I’m already wet anyways. Though he immediately knew what I was thinking and, so, he pulled me close. His hand warmed mine as we held the umbrella. It was almost as if we were holding hands. My face was burning. What is this feeling? However, before I had any time to process my thoughts, Mr. Jones slowed his pace and bent down to look at me.

“Are you feeling well, Deb? Your face is completely red.” He brought his face closer, making me blush ever more fiercely.

You i***t.

This feeling… What is it? I feel dizzy…

I held onto Mr. Jones’s chest to keep myself up, but everything around us swirled until it formed a dark tunnel.

“Deb? Deb!”

My body suddenly felt thrice as heavy. The sound of the umbrella hitting the floor echoed in my mind as Mr. Jones picked me up. I could hardly keep my eyes open as he carried me like a princess.

“Is your mom working late today as well?” I nodded faintly into his chest, too weak to wonder how he could remember such details. “I’m taking you to the school nurse then. He’ll be able to take care of you.”

“But…” I whispered almost inaudibly.

“i***t. Don’t you dare think about school at a time like this.” He quickened his pace. How did he know what I was going to say? Maybe I spoke more than what I remember.

The last thing I remember seeing was the eyes of gossiping girls at the school grounds. Darkness overcame me before I could begin thinking of the repercussions this would have on my already-wretched popularity.

Although I woke up a few times throughout the day, that conscious state did not last long enough for me to retain anything but the feeling of a throbbing headache. However, I was forced to gain consciousness as the nurse shook me and told me that the school hours were over. I sat up confused. How could I sleep for so long? He was taking my temperature one last time when Mr. Jones knocked and entered the office.

“How’s she doing?” he asked before realizing that I was up. He then walked towards me and placed a cool hand on my forehead. “How are you feeling?”

My heart skipped a beat.

“Down to 38. She should be fine tomorrow.” the nurse answered apathetically, speaking almost as though I weren’t in the room. I’m sure I must have been a bother to him, sleeping all day in his office.

“That’s good.” Mr. Jones appeared to release a sigh of relief.

I could not manage to say anything, too perplexed at the way he was taking care of me. Why… Is this some kind of way to trick me back into regaining his trust? I was thankful, yet still skeptic. I mean, he was always very caring and protective of me, so maybe I’m in the wrong for holding that one incident over him…

We walked out of the nurse’s office and I immediately felt the piercing glares wondering why the hot teacher every girl wanted was so attached to the school’s ugly duckling. I wanted to break away as fast as possible. Mr. Jones, however, gave no attention to it, though I could tell he was aware of the stares.

“Here,” he presented a stack of papers to me, “I think you should rest, but I also know you can’t relax until you’re up to date with the syllabus, so I gathered work from each of your teachers.”

I took the papers, still bewildered at the whole situation. “Thanks.”

Mr. Jones smiled and began walking ahead of me. I stopped, assuming he was leaving, but he looked back once he noticed I did not follow.

“Come, I’ll give you a ride home.” he said, still ignoring the haunting stares. I felt intimidated by them and shook my head. Mr. Jones realized what I was thinking of and glared at the peering bystanders to disperse, and so they did.

“Ignore them. It is still raining out and I cannot let you walk home alone in your state.” he insisted.

“I feel fine.” my stubbornness spoke, but it had no effect. For shortly after, we were in a taxi cab, whooshing through the pouring rain.

The ride was silent and Mr. Jones made no attempt to force me into listening to any excuses. I was thankful for this, yet still doubtful of his intentions. Once we reached my house, he accompanied m to my door under his umbrella and waited for me to get inside. Then, he simply bid farewell and expressed his hopes for me to get better. I thanked him apprehensively and remained staring at the door for a while, reflecting on the whole day and wondering if it was all a dream – a dream designed by my unconsciousness telling me to trust him.

But I never woke up from that dream.