Killer

Chapter 16: The Affair

On Monday morning, I strolled through the narrow hallway of the faculty wing of Tanglewood High thirty minutes before school started. The teacher's lounge was at the end of the hallway, next to a small, cozy window seat. I peered my head at the doorway to see Mr. Burke making coffee from the counters.

I went to school without asking Jace for a ride. I figured he was upset about what happened on Friday after school in the parking lots, so I didn't even bother to talk to him over the weekend when he left me behind like that. In reality, I wanted to talk to him, but I honestly knew Jace didn't want to give in to how he had feelings for me, so giving him space was the best thing I could do for now until he was ready to talk to me again. And besides, how in the world was I going to solve this investigation without him? I made a decision to give myself a headstart by walking to school early in the morning to see what Mr. Burke was doing, and it turned out my plan was working.

He turned his head once he heard a small noise nearby. His dark brown eyes widened. He wore a button-down navy-blue top and a pair of black slacks. His face flashed into surprise when he saw it was me.

"G-Good morning, Sunny," Mr. Burke said with suspicion in his voice.

I hovered in the doorway. "Good morning, Mr. Burke. Can-Can you unlock the classroom?" I asked in a voice that was squeaking a little.

Mr. Burke yawned, stirring his coffee. I noticed more dark bags underneath his eyes. "It should be unlocked already," he responded. "Why do you need to go in there?"

I almost found myself walking out of the teacher's lounge into the hallway. It was empty—too empty. I felt like I was standing in front of a possible killer, ready to take off at any given moment.

"Um, to get some work done." I quickly said.

"Okay," Mr. Burke sharply said. "I'll see you in class."

Why wasn't he being friendly like he usually was? Was he only nice when he was around other people? Completely strange.

I shut the door carefully. It was so odd that the hallway wasn't swarmed with students on a weekday morning, rushing off to homerooms. I decided to cut through the commons to get to my locker to see what books I might needed for today. My heart was slightly pounding in the weird silence, to the point where I needed some fresh air.

Outside, through the nearest entrance, I heard a familiar girl's laugh. I froze for a minute. When would I stop believing the worst could happen to me everywhere I go? I plodded not on the commons' stone path like a normal person should, but through the wet grass. The morning fog was so dense that I could not see my whole body. My footprints disappeared into the moist ground as soon as I created them.

It seemed like the perfect time to vanish from everything I had ever known.

I came across the edge of our school's parking lot that was reserved for staff only. In the distance, I noticed a small white car that was the only one parked. I checked the time on my phone just to see that I only had fifteen minutes left before school started.

Mr. Burke shot out of the car, opening the other side as I watched from where I stood. I gasped when Rachel came out as he rubbed her arm in a way that didn't seem friendly, as if it were much more. All of this took me by surprise.

I moved a bit closer to the car, hiding from their sight behind a bunch of tree bushes.

"Just wait here," Mr. Burke said.

"But I don't want to..." Rachel whined, glancing longingly at her biology teacher. They got back into the car, but luckily the window on the driver's side was rolled down for me to see as clear as day.

"Just for a minute." Mr. Burke turned down the radio volume. I watched Rachel slump in her seat. "You seemed a little..." he flicked his eyes around their surroundings as I ducked down so that they didn't see me before saying. "I can't keep doing this."

Rachel shrugged her shoulders. "So."

He sighed heavily, seeming as if he were stressed out. "I am your teacher, and you are my student. I can get into a lot of trouble, Rachel. You and I both know this."

She fidgeted with her jacket's zipper until it was down. "Maybe I can change your mind."

Mr. Burke stuck a cigarette that looked like it was pre-rolled into his mouth. I was seeing another side of him. "Maybe you can. I like you a lot."

Rachel looked out at the parking lot. They must have thought it was deserted to have a special encounter like this. "Yeah, I know," she said, kissing his neck so passionately. I almost wanted to vomit. "You're so hot."

I watched much further, thinking one of them was going to get out of the car. Blood rushed into my ears. How was I supposed to let what I was witnessing go to waste—a dark secret from Rachel Davis, who had done nothing but treat me the absolute worst.

That was when Rachel's solid green eyes landed and she saw me hiding in plain sight. I instantly sprinted away before I saw any more and her trying to stop me. I ran all the way back to the school, wanting to be alone and process what I saw.

I didn't want Mr. Burke to come up to me in class and explain to me that it was not what it looked like bullshit, like I was stupid. I saw what I saw. It was all starting to make sense. The way Rachel would dress and act around him, walking through the classroom door so seductively. Tre admitted to me at his party that he thought she was cheating on him, which she was with Mr. Burke. I remembered one time Mr. Burke had called Rachel out to take attendance one morning. She took a long time to finish up as she looked up at him, the two exchanging eye contact with each other. When we would leave his class, instead of saying a polite "have a good day or goodbye" while handing out our graded lab assignments as the other students did, Rachel would blow a kiss at him.

Don't think about it, Don't think about it. I thought to myself, glancing back over my shoulder.

I didn't stop until I was in the girl's bathroom. I rushed into a stall, grabbed some toilet paper in case some tears erupted, and crawled on top of the toilet for the rest of the morning until school started.

Mr. Burke may not a killer, but someone who was into younger girls.

A creep.

It made me look at him a lot differently now.