THE ROSE AND THE THORN

Chapter 36

"You both need to calm down..." I told Scott and Connor, but it was no use.

"I seriously cannot believe you fucked a teacher, Inds. That's next level, even for you!" Scott replied.

We were all walking to school on Monday morning. The boys and Aimee had spent the weekend like we had planned, and neither of the boys had shut up the entire weekend after finding out about Ruby and me.

"You both have to keep your mouths shut at school, okay?" I demanded, and they nodded in response. "I actually like her and don't want her to get fired or arrested because of me."

"Wait...you like her?" Connor pried, "As in, your stone cold heart actually thawed out enough for you to have genuine feelings?"

"I will not hesitate to castrate you with a blunt knife if you continue to mock me!" I snapped at him.

"No offence, Inds. I'm just not used to this. And Miss Rose, of all people!" Connor responded.

We walked through the school gates and I gave a pointed look to each of my friends, silently telling them not to say a word about what they overheard on Friday afternoon.

Connor and I made our way to homeroom, waving goodbye to Aimee and Scott as we did so.

"Not a word!" I hissed to Connor as I saw him open his mouth from the corner of my eye.

"Dude, you've been avoiding an explanation the entire weekend. We just want to know how this happened!" he exclaimed.

"Fine, I'll tell you. But not here, okay?" I said, and he grinned excitedly.

༻✧༺

"Who wants to start the class with our daily prayer before we begin?" Mrs Rysteck asked as she walked in the classroom.

My hand instantly shot up into the air as I practically threw myself out of my chair. I made a scene of wiggling my hand vigorously, shouting "me, me, pick me!" as she looked at every student in the classroom except me.

"No one?" she pressed, and I stood out of my chair and jumped up and down, my hands flailing madly through the air.

"I think India would like to do it," a shy girl from the front row said.

"Very well. India?" Mrs Rysteck spat.

I walked to the front of the classroom and stood in front of the students. I heard Mrs Rysteck huff loudly from her desk as I shot her a Cheshire smile.

"Dear God, Jesus, Holy Spirit, Lord, Father, Daddy," I began, and I heard snickers from the class.

"Thank you for giving us the opportunity to learn about you with Mrs Rysteck. We are very grateful. Thank you also for making sure we have food, water and clothes. And thank you for titties. Amen."

"Go to the principals office! Now!" Mrs Rysteck screamed, and I grabbed my bag and ran from the classroom.

I walked to the office, knowing that Mr Geoffrey wouldn't care that I had been sent there. He disliked Mrs Rysteck almost as much as I did, but I never really knew why. As I opened the door to Mr Geoffrey's office, I saw Ruby sitting on the chair she was in when I first laid eyes on her.

"Well, well, well, isn't this a throwback!" Mr Geoffrey chuckled, and I looked between the two of them awkwardly.

"Uh, sorry sir. I didn't realise you were busy," I said quietly, beginning to close the door.

"It's no problem, Miss Thorn. We were just finishing up," he smiled, "Who was it this time?"

"Mrs Rysteck..." I replied, and he smiled wider.

"And what did you do this time?" he asked me.

"Thanked God for boobs in my morning prayer," I said simply, causing both him and Ruby to crack into laughter.

"Oh dear, what am I going to do with you?" Mr Geoffrey said once he had finished laughing, wiping his eyes.

"You could...do nothing?" I suggested slyly, but he shook his head lightly.

"I would never hear the end of it if I did nothing. I think a lunch time detention today will suffice," he said.

"Not with Mrs Rysteck!" I begged, "Please, I'll do anything!"

"No, I wouldn't do that to you, India. Miss Rose, would you mind watching India for detention today at lunch?" he asked.

Uh oh. Ruby's eyes flickered to mine momentarily before she looked back at Mr Geoffrey. She cleared her throat quickly before responding.

"Uh, not at all. That's fine." she said quickly.

"I guess that's sorted then. I have to make a call now so I'll have to ask you both to leave. Enjoy the rest of your day ladies!" Mr Geoffrey said.

I quickly turned and walked out of his office, Ruby trailing behind me. Once she closed the door behind her I quickly apprehended her.

"Why did you run on Friday?" I whispered.

"We are not doing this here," she hissed at me. "Come to my classroom at lunch time for your detention."

She turned on her heel and made her way out of the office. I didn't return to my Religion class, instead deciding to roam the school grounds until the bell rang for my next lesson. After that was lunch, which meant my detention with Ruby.

English dragged on like a wet weekend, consisting of Mr Cleary threatening me with a weeks worth of detention for chewing gum. By the time lunch had arrived I was almost excited for my detention with Ruby, but as soon as I walked into her classroom my heart fell.

"What are you doing here?" I spat.

"That is no way to speak to an adult," Maria spat back.

"India, please sit down..." Ruby said tiredly.

"I'll see you tonight, baby!" Maria said, leaning forward and kissing Ruby on the lips before walking out of the room.

I could physically feel my heart shatter. I felt each piece break off and combust into tiny shards, piercing through my skin. I felt the blood drain from my face, my hands instantly became numb and I wanted to scream, but I couldn't make a sound. In a matter of seconds my whole world came crashing down, and the only thing I could feel was the emptiness in my chest and the tears that fell down my cheeks.