"I'm afraid I'll have to get rid of you soon".
Natalya held Ivan's head gently in her hands as she placed it back into the fridge where the rest of the chopped down limbs of his brother remained.
It was time for her to get down to business, she can't be refrigirating her brother's corpse forever. The smell was unbearable everytime she opened the fridge, the body was starting to rot. Disgusted by the smell, she slammed the door close and went to get her safety equipment: gloves, dust mask and goggles. Then, she gathered the cement, sand and stone in a bucket along with a shovel. It would have been ideal if she had a wheelbarrow to make the mixture, but Yekaterina didn't have that sort of equipment and she already spent too much money purchasing the other products. Concentrated, she began mixing the ingredients as she watched them become one. Finally, she added water to it so it wouldn't solidify so quickly. That was the easy part of the entire process, now Natalya had to dip Ivan's parts in it so they would mix with the cement.
The next day, Natalya attended class as usual, but she was visibly exhausted. She wasn't really paying attention to Mr. Laurinaitis' explanation, instead, she was laying on her desk with her arms covering her head. Her classmates could also notice that she was acting strange, the girl seemed like she hadn't sleep at all.
"Dude, she's acting so weird today, totally creeping me out".
Alfred whispered to Arthur, who was diligently taking notes on Toris' class.
"She's just tired, that's all, no big deal. Probably studying for the up coming exam".
The British responded, still focused in his class work and not paying much attention to his American friend.
"I'm telling you Artie, something is off with that chick today. I'm telling you because I know how into her you are".
The carefree American mentioned, while continuing playing games on bis phone instead of paying attention to the professor's lesson.
"Huh? What are you talking about you git? I just appreciate her writing that's all!"
The Brit was losing his chill and slammed his book on the table, making everyone turn their heads to stare at him.
Mr. Laurinaitis, who was distracted by the loud quarrel between his students, forced him to intervene in the situation.
"Gentlemen, I too would like to be included in what you two are talking about so excitedly in my class time".
Arthur and Alfred started blaming on each other about who started it. Toris sighted, walking away from them as he tried to calm the class down so they could continue with the lesson.
The teacher also noticed that miss Arlovskaya seemed down, he couldn't help but worry about her and he was determined to talk with her after class.
Once the class was over and the students started leaving, mr. Laurinaitis noticed that the Belasurian hadn't even start packing. She was still laying on her desk with her head down, she had fallen asleep. The Lithuanian walked over to her, careful with not making too much noise to not wake her up. He stood in front of her and was debating on whether or not to wake her up. On one hand she seemed pretty exhausted and needed some rest but it was also his responsibility to leave the classroom empty for the next teacher. Toris poked her soft and rosy cheek, that immediately woke Natalya up from her slumber.
"I'm sorry to disturb you but class has already ended".
He said in a soft voice and with a gentle smile, but miss Arlovskaya seemed altered. Her face turned red as she quickly stood up and grabbed her backpack from her seat.
"I'm so sorry for falling asleep, I'm so embarrassed Toris".
The Lithuanian felt his hands sweaty as he looked away from her, avoiding that glare of hers. For some reason he always got butterflies in his stomach when Natalya called him by his first name.
"No worries, but are you alright? Do you feel sick?"
The professor asked, he sounded preoccupied, but the Belarusian shook her head.
"I'm just a bit tired that's all. I hardly slept last night".
She explained, trying to not worry Toris too much. In reality she felt like she was about to faint. Last night she stayed up late to clean up her crime scene. The cement dried pretty fast but it was difficult to remove it from the buckets she placed them in. With a lot of effort she pulled it out and placed them in garbage bags, she planned to throw them in the river that night. Natalya also had to clean up the mess in the fridge, her priority was eliminating the horrible smell that disgusted her so much. She also made sure that the floor was clean and spotless, as if nothing had happened.
The Lithuanian didn't seem convinced, he thought that Natalya was sick but still came to class.
"I should be leaving now".
She said while walking away, hoping that mr. Laurinaitis wouldn't follow her, but he did.
"Wait! Let me give you a ride to your house at least".
The teacher ran after her, holding her hand so she wouldn't leave just yet.
She blushed slightly, taking her hand away from him immediately, not because she didn't want to be touched but because she was startled by Toris' sudden reaction.
"I-I guess it's fine, I didn't bring my motorcycle today. It ran out of gas yesterday and I barely made it home".
He nodded, opening the door like a gentleman for her to go. He then followed her and together they walked towards the basement where his car was. It wasn't an extraordinary car or anything luxurious, just a second hand car that was good enough for him to move around the city. Toris opened the front door for her, and Natalya, who never received treatment like this before, stood there for a few seconds before understanding and getting inside the vehicle.
"So, where are we heading?"
Mr. Laurinaitis asked with his usual friendly smile and Natalya couldn't avoid to feel a sense of security everytime she was around him.
"It's not far away from here, just turn on the left and go all the way to park and you can drop me off there".
She explained, she didn't want him to see where she actually lives because it wasn't a pretty place. It was a run down building with a cheap rent that Natalya could afford.
"I'm going to leave you at your house's door Natalya".
Toris insisted, he wasn't going to drop her in the park and expect her to walk alone. The streets were dangerous and even though he knew that she could take care of herself, he still wanted to protect her in a way.
The Belarussian simply nodded, there was no way she was going to convince him of otherwise, mr. Laurinaitis had made his intention of taking her home pretty clear. As he began driving, she looked out of the window and felt a sense of tranquillity. His brother never gave her a ride home, even though he had a car. She began to think about how she's better off without him and his teacher was just the perfect replacement for Ivan. Not only he was attractive but also caring, smart and funny. It was weird for Natalya to catch feelings for someone so quickly, maybe it was because the last few days had been pretty rough on her and the Lithuanian suddenly appeared like her guardian angel. She didn't want to admit that she might be developing a crush on him, just not yet. Her life was a complete mess and so many secrets that she had to hide, so many things she still hadn't figure it out.
While she was lost in her thoughts, Toris observed her constantly instead of paying attention on the road. Now that he was looking at her with determination, she was absolutely gorgeous. He knew that it was wrong of him to be looking at her in that way, she was his student! Natalya was 20 and he was 32, that's 12 years of age difference. If he was with her, it would be an abomination. What was he even thinking about? Dating her? Impossible. There was no way for such a smart, talented and beautiful girl to like her boring and nerdy teacher. Instead of thinking about these silly things, he should be focusing on the very suspicious project she gave and not fantasizing about his student.
"We're at the park now, what's next?"
The professor asked, now focusing on the road.
"Turn left into the alleyway and it's the last building".
Her indications were clear and they arrived soon, he saw her red motorcycle parked outside and Natalya noticed it.
"It's alright, I'll ask my sister to lend me some money for the gas".
It was as if she had read his mind, Toris was surprised, but considering that she was such a smart girl, it was to be expected.
"How much is it?"
The Lithuanian asked, pulling out his wallet from his pocket and taking out some crumbled dollars.
"Oh, I can't take it. I'm sorry Toris, you've already done so much for me".
Mr. Laurinaitis got out of his car to follow her, who was already with her keys in her hand and ready to get inside of the building.
"It's no big deal really, when I was a student I was short on money too! I'm not saying that you're like me or anything, I was quite irresponsible with money actually but still, I insist".
The Belarussian shook her head, she was determined to not take that money. It was wrong to receive help from him, especially a teacher.
"No thank you".
Natalya said under her breath as the gate opened and she got in quickly and was about to close the door shut when Toris pushed it and got inside.
"Natalya, I refuse to let you leave without taking this money".
He stretched his hand, offering it to her again with the hope of her not running away, but as it was expected, the agile girl climbed up the stairs rapidly, leaving Toris behind who was having a hard time catching up.
"Goodbye".
She mumbled as she got to her apartment and locked herself in, pressing herself against the door. She could hear her teacher's uneven breathing as he slowly got up the stairs. He looked around, not seeing Natalya anywhere but he was sure that this was her apartment. Toris got down on one knee and slipped the money through the small remaining space between the door and the floor. Natalya, on the other side just stared at the paper money coming inside her house, she sighed, picking it up from the floor, but she wasn't going to keep it, she was going to give it back the next day.
The Lithuanian, after completing his task, went down the stairs and back into his car. It sure had been a crazy day for him, but he was happy that he learned a little bit more about his student. It also came to his mind that she couldn't have possibly contracted a professional writer to help her with the project, she couldn't even afford gas money. But maybe that was because she wasted it all on the writer. Mr. Laurinaitis felt puzzled as he drove back home, still unsure about this whole situation with Natalya.
The day wasn't over yet for miss Arlovskaya, she still had to wait until late at night to complete her dirty deeds. Toris didn't notice there was a car parked outside, that was Yekaterina's. Natalya took it so it would be easier for her to transport the cement to the river where she planned on throwing the remains of her brother. Natalya held a small red coffin as she walked to her bedroom and picked up one of the floorboards under her bed from the floor. She carefully placed the coffin in, but before placing the floorboards back, she opened it. Inside it contained a few scattered silver hairs, Ivan's passport, licence and cell phone.
"Just some souvenirs".