THE ROSE AND THE THORN

Chapter 14

"So, Indi..." Connor said as he walked beside me and Aimee. "I heard you got lucky over the weekend."

"And who told you that?" I asked, staring Aimee down as she held up her hands at me.

"Sorry!" she shrugged as I rolled my eyes.

We turned the corner and began walking towards our PDHPE classroom for our third period lesson. Connor had a free period now so he was walking us there.

"I heard she was a screamer. Damn India, you must be really good with your fingers!" he called as we walked away from him and into our classroom.

"Not just my fingers!" I called back, poking out my tongue and flicking it quickly at him. He laughed and rolled his eyes, walking away with his middle finger in the air.

I turned around and saw Miss Rose staring at me, her eyes wide. She closed them briefly and then turned away, gathering her books from her desk.

"We are having a practical lesson today class, so let's make our way to the gym," she said, and she quickly walked out of the classroom ahead of all the students.

I ran after her, wanting to talk to her about why she had been avoiding me for the past week.

"Miss Rose, I need to talk to you," I said as I caught up to her. She sighed and turned to me.

"About what, India?" she said.

"Can we talk somewhere else. Privately?" I ask quietly, and she sighed and nodded before walking with me over to a secluded area of the quadrangle.

"What's wrong?" she asked me.

"Well, that's what I was going to ask you," I said shortly, and she raised her eyebrow at me.

"I don't have to disclose any personal information with you, Miss Thorn. It would do you good to remember that you are my student. You don't get to ask those questions!" she snapped, and I stepped back defensively.

"Woah, I just felt like I deserved a bit of an explanation since you've been avoiding me all week," I said, crossing my arms.

"I have not been avoiding you, I've just been busy," she told me, which was obviously a lie.

"Busy fighting with your shitty girlfriend?" I snapped at her, which drove her over the edge.

She dropped her folders suddenly and before I could comprehend what was happening, her hands had flown to my shoulders and she had slammed me against the brick wall, pinning me there.

"You are not allowed to speak to me in that way," she hissed, her lips mere inches from mine.

I was taken aback by her sudden outburst, her issues obviously deeper rooted than I had thought...but I stayed calm and leaned in closer.

"I knew you liked it rough. I'll keep that in mind."

My lips brushed against hers slightly as I spoke, and before she could reply I slipped out of her grasp and made my way to the gym to meet up with the rest of the class.

I knew I had overstepped a line but she wasn't giving me any answers. I wanted to know why she had been ignoring me and avoiding me, and if she was going to lie to me then I was going to make sure she knew I wasn't happy about it.

Miss Rose arrived at the gym ten minutes after me looking flustered and red in the face. She refused to meet my gaze and avoided me like I was contagious. I knew better than to push my luck so I didn't say anything to her, but I made sure she knew I wasn't going to let this go.

Miss Rose told us to go into the change rooms and freshen up before heading off to our next class. Aimee and I trudged into the change rooms and took off our clothes, rinsing ourselves off before throwing our uniforms back on. I stood up from tying up my shoes when my vision suddenly blurred. I stumbled to the side and fell back, landing on the chairs behind me.

"Indi, are you okay?" Aimee asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just stood up too fast," I mumbled, before standing up again.

It happened again, and Aimee steadied me before sitting me down on the chair again.

"Stay there, I'm getting Miss Rose!" she said sternly.

"Aimee, I'm fine. Don't get Miss Rose!" I said, but she was out of the change rooms before she could've heard me.

I sat on the chair with my head in my hands, wondering what the hell was wrong with me and why I had almost fainted again for the second time in three weeks. Never in my life had I fainted before that, so why now? I heard the door open and I saw Miss Rose's shoes appear in front of me. Suddenly, I was in no mood to be near her. I wanted to give her a taste of her own medicine.

"Are you okay?" her voice said softly.

"I'm fine, go away..." I snapped, not lifting my head.

"India, you're not fine. What happened?" she asked.

"Nothing happened," I said, and I heard her sigh and walk closer to me.

"India!" she said sternly, sitting down on the chair next to mine.

"Maybe I'm just a bit light headed from when you slammed me up against that brick wall. Talk about inappropriate!" I spat at her, standing up and ignoring the throbbing headache and blurred vision.

There was a silence between us as I began gathering my things and throwing them into my backpack.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly, but I ignored her.

As I began to walk out of the change rooms she grabbed my wrist, forcing me to turn around.

"You're not going back to class, you're unwell. I'm taking you home," she said to me, and as much as I wanted to go with her she needed to know that a simple apology couldn't fix how she'd been ignoring me for days.

"No thanks," I said.

"You're sick, you should go home. Let me take you!" she insisted.

"I'll walk then," I said, before slipping by her and walking out the door.