THE ROSE AND THE THORN

Chapter 4

I almost didn't believe them when they told me, but it all made sense. The fact that Mr Geoffrey had called her 'Miss Rose', and had not properly introduced us like he would have with two students. The fact that they were having a meeting. The fact that she was in plain clothes and not the school uniform. Everything made sense, and I suddenly found myself regretting my actions. I had winked at her, and she had overheard Mr Cleary and Mrs Rysteck complaining about how bad I am. She would surely have it in for me now. One thing I didn't understand though was how she could possibly be a teacher, she looked no older than twenty years old.

I walked slowly with Aimee to our PDHPE class, Aimee teasing me the entire way for winking and flirting with our new teacher. I shoved her lightly, telling her to shut up and leave me alone, but that only gave her more ammunition. We walked into the classroom and I instantly walked to the back of the room, sitting on one of the tables directly under the only working air conditioner in the entire school. I leant back on my elbows and let the cool air blow over me, exhaling loudly.

"Fuck, why can't all the air con's work in this damn school?" I complained to Aimee, and she nodded as she relaxed next to me.

We suddenly heard the door open and none other than Miss Rose walked into the room. She was wearing knee length boys shorts, a loose shirt and black high top vans on her feet. She looked casual, but really fucking hot.

"Hello class," she began, and everyone settled down when they heard the voice of authority. "I'm Miss Rose and I'm the new replacement for Mr Linder. I've heard he was a really great teacher, so I hope I can live up to your expectations."

Her eyes scanned the classroom before they fell on me. Our eyes met and my mouth turned into a smirk. I couldn't help myself, she was just too good.

"Ah, Miss Thorn.." she smiled.

"The one and only," I said back.

"I hope you don't plan on giving me as much trouble as you gave those poor teachers yesterday," she said with a smile.

"That depends..." I said slyly, and I could feel Aimee's eyes burning into the back of my head. I was flirting, and Aimee knew it. But did Miss Rose?

"Depends on what?" she smirked.

"Are you going to be as painful as they are?" I asked her, tilting my head to the side.

"Hopefully not," she said with a chuckle.

"Then we won't have any problems, Miss Rose..." I said, and before I could help myself I sent another wink her way, hopping off the table and sitting in my chair.

Miss Rose began writing on the whiteboard, and I felt Aimee nudge my ribs with her elbow.

"That was almost painful to listen to," Aimee said to me.

"What was?" I asked, although I knew what her answer would be.

"You flirting...with a teacher! Albeit, a hot teacher, but a teacher nonetheless!" she whispered.

"You didn't seem to have a problem with flirting with teachers when Mr Linder was here!" I snorted, and she rolled her eyes at me.

"That was different!" Aimee defended herself.

"How in the world is it different?" I scoffed.

"It just is! Mr Linder is married and my flirting was harmless and fell on deaf ears. Miss Rose is young! She could take you seriously!" Aimee hissed.

"And if she does?" I asked.

"You could get in trouble," Aimee said to me.

"Aimee, you worry too much. I won't get in trouble. Besides, I wasn't flirting!" I said.

"Bullshit you weren't flirting," she said as she rolled her eyes.

"Aims, relax. Save your energy for soccer training this afternoon!" I said, giving her a pat on the shoulder.

Miss Rose let us relax for the rest of the lesson, occasionally writing things on the board for us to take note of. When the bell rang, Aimee and I got up from our desks and walked over to Miss Rose.

"Hi Miss Rose, I'm Aimee Valentine," Aimee said, introducing herself. "And you've obviously already met Indi."

"I have indeed had the pleasure. It's nice to meet you Aimee. What can I do for you?" Miss Rose said.

"I was just going to ask, you're the new soccer coach right?" Aimee asked.

"I am, are you girls on the team?" Miss Rose asked us.

"Yeah, we are. I was just wondering what time training finishes?" Aimee said.

"I'm hoping to finish up around five
o'clock, but it's up to Mr Linder. He'll be there as well," Miss Rose said.

Aimee nodded and thanked Miss Rose, and we began to walk out the door.

"Miss Thorn, can I talk to you for a moment?" Miss Rose called, and I smiled to myself.

"Go ahead, tell Mrs Mason I'll be there soon," I said to Aimee, and then turned around to face Miss Rose.

"So, it's Indi, correct?" she asked, and I nodded.

"That was my dogs name," she said casually.

"Are you calling me a dog, Miss Rose?" I asked cheekily, feigning offence.

"Of course not," she laughed, and I shook my head.

"It's short for India," I explained, and she nodded.

"India," she repeated. "that's a beautiful name."

"Thank you," I said, unable to think of a quick whites comment to reply with. She had caught me off guard with her compliment and I was almost sure that I was blushing.

"I called you back to make sure that we aren't going to have any trouble this year," she stated.

"I already told you that we won't," I told her.

"Well, I just wanted to make sure," she said, and I nodded.

"No trouble, I promise!" I said, holding my hands up as if I were surrendering.

"Good, I'm glad. I don't think you can afford to get on the bad side of another teacher," she chuckled.

"What would being on your bad side entail?" I asked teasingly.

"I haven't figured that out yet," she said simply.  Either she hasn't picked up on the fact that I was unashamedly flirting, or she simply didn't care.

"Maybe I'd like to find out," I said, giving her a smirk before turning on my heel and walking out of the classroom door.