"Has anyone seen Drift today?" Maven asked, looking up at the class as she took attendance. She had them set on doing their aerodynamics quiz, but there was one missing test taker.
The class responded with utter silence.
"Okay then, third day in a row," Maven checked the absent box next to Drift's name on the attendance sheet. Her heart sank a little as she marked him absent once again. He was on the verge of an F now. Maven hated failing students, especially physically attractive guys that caught her eye. She'd been swept off her feet the moment Drift Abernathy walked into her warehouse that wonderful summer day. He was shy and mostly slept through her classes, but she held a strange liking for him. Maybe, a little more she dared not admit, not even to herself. And now she had to fail the guy.
Sun Strider was the first to finish her quiz. Lazy Link's prized pool lifeguard waltzed to Maven's table, letting all the guys get a salacious look at her booty shorts clad ass as she daintily placed her paper on the table. She looked her teacher from head to toe with a smirk before sweeping away. Maven shrank in slight fear and reprimand from Strider. The latter radiated so much of sex and lustful beauty Maven could feel it crackling in the air.
Next up came Sentinel and Airheart, the two cheerful aviation nerds she'd shared company with. Maven relaxed as the two dropped off their quizzes with smiles and headed back to their desk. She liked the two. Gradually the whole class finished, and Maven tallied up their tests.
Just then, the bell rang, and her students filed out quickly. Strider left hastily, arm in arm with her little counterpart, the cowgirl Calamity. They both gave Maven a superior smirk, making the teacher shrink even farther down her desk. And just then, Maven's eye caught on Strider's quiz paper.
I know what happened to Drift. xx, stridie 3, she'd scribbled at the top corner. Maven whipped up her head in shock, but Strider was gone.
The nerve of that little bitch, Maven thought angrily as her mouth went dry. Whatever mild dislike she held for Strider intensified to a flaming hatred. She'd seen how Strider could push people's buttons to get her way. And now she was becoming just another button to push too. She grasped her pen in her hand so hard the cap cracked off. How the fuck did that little skeeze know my secret?
She yanked off her glasses and wiped them on her blouse, fuming and feeling powerless. Although she was twenty three, a good few years older than the class she taught, she might as well be a whole decade younger the way some looked down on her.
She stared down at the pile of tests to grade, feeling numb. A wave of emotion rose in her and the words, numbers, and calculations written before her eyes blurred into a grayish soup. She barely realized she was sobbing until someone cleared their throat at the half open doorway.
"Ms. Maven?" Drift called softly.
Maven's stomach did a pleasant flip and she straightened, swiping at her eyes with a random tissue. "Sorry, just some bad allergies," she said, feigning cheerfulness.
"It's the middle of winter," Drift responded with a humorous note.
"I- I'm allergic t- to-" she giggled suddenly, "assholes like Sun Strider," the confession slipped out like juice from a broken slurp bottle. She clapped a hand over her mouth. "Aww shit, I didn't mean to say th- sorry! I didn't mean to swear too!"
Drift chuckled, his deep, warm voice stirring a warmth in her lower stomach. "Oh, I'm not too hot with her either," he said. He walked up to her desk, the smile fading.
Maven beheld Drift, scanning him all over. He looked worn and bruised, a slight limp in his step. Most notably, a large bruise was fading on his cheek. Something she might not have noticed if she hadn't blatantly stared at him occasionally...
She shook off the daze and went back to teacher mode. "So how can I help you?" She asked. "And where have you been?"
Drift reached into his backpack and pulled out a packet. "All of this week's work," he stated plainly. "I was uh, sick for a few days." Maven heard the lie in his voice. She scanned over his work, finding it passable.
"Did you try calling in?" She questioned.
"I was blackout sick, like I said." Drift covered up quickly.
"Blackout sick, huh."
"Yup."
"And what about that pink haired unicorn girl you hang out with, blackout sick too?"
Drift immediately went pale and he visibly flinched at the mention. "N-nothing," he said painfully.
"Well, I have this whole stack of quizzes to grade. I'd better get on it," Maven said.
"Where's Strider's?" Drift asked suddenly.
"Uh, right here." Maven pushed over one of the quizzes. Before she could react, he'd grabbed a red pen and scrawled an F on the paper. "That's for messing with my awesome teacher," he smirked.
Maven felt no need to rectify him. She smiled as her heart beat faster. He liked her.
Before y'all grab your phones to dial the FBI, Maven is 23 and Drift's class age group is 20-21. No underage mfs on my watch (cool face) Nice try, FBI!