"I got an 'F'?"
A week has passed, and the day had started out normally. A cloudy Thursday, unseasonably cold, but not uncomfortable. The school had appeared to have enough energy to light up the whole sky, but Scarlett was stoic and sullen, which Sophia had pointed out was very unlike her nature. She'd forced a smile for the teachers she'd pass, prepared a cheeky remark for Stan, and completely and utterly shunned the name 'Brian Garra' from her mind.
During homeroom, she hadn't spoken. Even when the brown-haired teacher called her name, she hadn't answered, and Sophia had had to say she was present. She refused to look at him when he looked at her, which happened to be quite often. Sophia tried to question her about it after class, but Scarlett had just given her signature smirk and shrugged. "I hadn't noticed." She lied.
On to second period, which was Orchestra. Taught by a middle-aged woman by the name of Mary Forestein and her virtually blind hushand, Lloyd Forestein, who happened to be incredibly skilled at tuning instruments. Scarlett played violin, and was sat next to a silver-haired girl who she learned was Stan's sister, Faith. She was a year younger than Stan, but had skipped a grade. The two developed a fast friendship, though they were nearly polar opposites, Faith being soft-spoken and shy.
Third period was Math with a teacher she quickly found herself liking. His name was Dustin Lakeside, he was in his early thirties and had a very stern and no-nonsense attitude that reminded Scarlett of her old school.
Fourth period was lunch. Scarlett sat with Faith, Stan, and Sophia.
Fifth period was Choir, taught by Misty Rivers. Scarlett was a soprano.
Sixth period was Spanish, taught by Thorne Clarkson. Brian Garra was mentioned five times. Not that Scarlett was counting.
It was during seventh period, History, that everything went wrong. Her favorite teacher taught this class. He was tall, though not as tall and muscular as a certain English teacher, but was just as young. He was fair-skinned and handsome, with ash-gray hair scattered with darker flecks. His name was Ashton Woode, and he just happened to be Brian's best friend.
Scarlett had sat down at her desk, and Mr. Woode had smiled kindly at her. "Wonderful day, isn't it, Scarlett?" Scarlett. He always addressed his students by their first names. This annoyed her somewhat, as she was used to teachers being distant. She never complained, though. She only smiled back and answered, "Well, if it weren't for the rain, then it'd be fine." Ashton grinned, as though he found this comment amusing.
That was what she liked about him. And hated, at the same time. Always cheery, never really worrying about anything. If there was one thing Scarlett needed right now, it was a steady pillar in her life, and Ashton had become just that. As more of her classmates filed in, the gray-haired man announced that he'd be passing out the tests they'd taken on the lesson taught the day before. Scarlett had sat up straight. She was a straight-A student, always the top of her class. A test was nothing.
"I got an 'F'?" She hissed under her breath, staring down at the paper in front of her. A bright red 'F', circled in pen. Dash marks covered the page, questions she'd gotten wrong. "How?" She looked up, and Mr. Woode just smiled at her sympathetically before moving on.
The rest of that period passed by in a blur. When the bell rang and her classmates began to file out the door, she made her way to the front of the room to Mr. Woode's desk. She set the test down, and he looked up at her.
"Yes, Scarlett? What can I do for you?"
"Well, Mr. Woode, as you can see, I got an 'F' on my test. I happen to be a straight-A student, so I was wondering if there is any way I could retake the test."
The teacher leaned back, his dark blue eyes narrowed as he thought through the request. "I'm afraid that wouldn't be fair to the other students, Scarlett. Many others got similar grades, though I admit yours was the lowest."
"Well, couldn't I get a tutor or something?" She asked, crossing her arms over her chest. "Maybe you could help me? Just go over the lesson again?" In reality, the reason she wanted to get a better grade was because she was afraid of what her parents would say, should they see her grade.
"Well, I'm not available tonight." The teacher sighed and leaned forward again. "Though I suppose there is someone I could reserve... would your parents mind if-"
"I live alone." She cut in quickly, savoring the thrill of those words when she spoke them out loud. He nodded after a moment, then gestured back to her desk. "Well, you may sit, then. I'm on my way out anyway, so I'll just fetch them."
She grinned and nodded, then sat back at her desk. She watched as Mr. Woode left and set down the hallway. The girl leaned back in her seat, sighing happily. She'd get a tutor, raise her grade before the semester was over, and her parents would never find out.
"Why the hell do I have to do it?" Brian whined as he began stacking his papers on his desk. Ashton stood on the opposite side of his desk, his arms crossed over his chest. His best friend was looking rather impatient, not at all in the mood to listen to the English teacher's complaints.
"Because," he growled under his breath. "We're teachers, and it's our duty to help students in need."
"But she's annoying!"
"You're one to talk. Look, she needs a tutor, and you're the only teacher certified in History who's free tonight. I can't just ignore her request if she's serious about raising her grade." The History teacher frowned, placing his hands on the desk and leaning forward. "Brian, we can't let our personal feelings for the students get in the way of our jobs."
Mr. Garra sighed heavily, finally rising from his chair. "Fine." He muttered, shooting his fellow teacher a mutinous glare. "But if I end up punching her in the face, it'll be your fault. And this is a one-time thing."
"Actually..." Ashton laughed nervously, suddenly looking uncomfortable. "You'll have to do regular tutoring sessions with her in order to get her grades back on track... Sorry about that. It's the only way I can be sure that she's getting the help she needs."
"I'm going to kill you. I'm going to slip a razor blade into a candy bar and forcefeed it to you."
"Well, what candy bar will it be? Snickers would be nice."
"No. It'll be a Payday."
"But I hate-"
"That's the point!" Grumbling several more curses aimed at his fellow teacher, Brian followed him out the door and down the hallway to where his least favorite student was waiting.
When Scarlett saw him standing in the doorway, hands behind his head, blatantly ignoring her wide gaze, her reaction was not particularly charming. Or graceful. Or polite, in the least bit.
"YOU!" She yelled, jumping up from her desk and pointing accusingly at the English teacher. There was a long pause between them, in which Brian simply stared at her with an expression that was somewhere between amusement and irritation.
"Me." He agreed. "Thundera, you should probably sit down. Just a suggestion."
"And why is that?" She snapped. "You have no right to tell me what I should do!"
"Alright, but I'm telling you, it's a good idea-"
"I don't want to hear it!"
"You're wearing a short skirt."
"And?"
"And the window's open."
"What's your point?"
"It's windy."
"For the love of God, just-"
"Look down, Miss Thundera."
She did as he said, and was too stunned to move for a long moment. Her dark skirt was rippling with the breeze, which had turned into a stark wind, and her bright pink panties were clearly visible. And Brian Garra had seen it all. And had teased her about it. She plopped into her seat, her cheeks flushed bright red.
Though he was facing the other way at this point, writing something on the chalkboard, it was quite obvious he was laughing, his shoulders moving up and down rhythmically.
She was so furious, it felt as though her head may explode, but she said nothing until he turned around again. On the board, he'd written 'The Feudal System'.
"That wasn't funny." Scarlett hissed through clenched teeth.
"It was your reaction that was funny." Brian grinned. "And I wasn't looking, if that's what you're thinking."
She fumed in silence as Mr. Garra turned back to the board and began making a diagram. "So, the test the other day was on feudalism, and I understand you failed it? That in itself is incredibly ironic. Anyway, I was forced into doing this, so don't think for a moment that I decided to spend my afternoon with you."
"You're not exactly a walk in the park either!" She snapped.
"As I was saying, the feudal system is really quite simple. Could you tell me what you missed?"
"Um..." Scarlett looked down at her paper for a moment before mumbling, "Everything..."
"Wow," Brian whistled. "Must be a new record."
"Are you trying to get yourself killed?"
"I might be. I just might be. Now, at the top of the feudal ladder is the king. Below him are lords, each of which he gives a section of land to in exchange for protection, loyalty, and taxes." The teacher made three branching lines beneath a drawing of a crown. At the end of each line was a castle.
"That doesn't seem like a very fair trade." Scarlett mused, tapping her pencil on the desk.
"Land was very valuable back then. Basically, the more land you had, the wealthier you were. Beneath the lords were knights," He made two lines branching off of a castle, each of which had a sword at the end. "They recieved a portion of land from the lords, in exchange for protection, loyalty, and taxes."
"Beneath them were peasants, right?"
"Peasants and surfs, yes."
"What's the difference between the two?"
"Here," Brian walked over to her desk, pulled up a chair, grabbed her pencil from her hand, and began sketching on the back side of her test.
He was so close. Scarlett could see the moving of muscles beneath his shirt, the way his expression seemed to soften as he drew, feel the heat of his breath on her arm. She gulped, feeling heat rise to her cheeks again.
"See?" The English teacher sat back, pointing to what he'd drawn. It was a diagram that looked much too difficult to understand, so she just waited for him to explain.
"Surfs were the farmers," he said, tapping the pencil on a stick figure who carried a hoe, and the writing around it. "Peasants were more like personal sevants. Not too big of a difference, so it's easy to get mixed up."
"If you're stupid, yeah." Scarlett rolled her eyes.
"Look here, Miss Uppity-"
"My name is Scarlett Thundera."
Mr. Garra sighed wearily, flopping back over his chair in a way that appeared most undignified. "You are by far the most annoying student I've ever had."
"Mission accomplished."
"Alright, Miss Thundera, I have a question for you." The man leaned forward again, so close Scarlett could clearly see the vibrant amber hue of his eyes. "You get one point for answering it at all." He held up one finger. "You get two points for honesty." He held up a second.
"Fine." She muttered, resting her cheek on one hand. "I'll play your little game."
"So, here's the question; how did you become the heir to Thundera Inc.?"
She stiffened imediately and spoke through clenched teeth. "What, you don't know?"
"No, I don't." He sighed, tapping his fingers on the desk. "You don't have to answer. I don't really have a reason for wanting to know, anyway. I only know that you have an older sister, but for some reason she wasn't chosen to inherit the organization."
"She chose a different career path." Scarlett snapped, slamming her pencil down and breaking the lead. "That's the only reason. She decided to go ahead and become a doctor, even though she's the one who's been trained for inheritance since she was born. No, she just blew everything off and dumped the whole load on her little sister that doesn't have a goddamn clue what she's doing!"
The pause between them was particularly awkward, just quiet, as Brian processed this information. "Thanks for tell me." For a split second, he lay his hand on hers in a gesture that somehow managed to comfort her instantly. He stood up and walked back to the chalkboard.
Scarlett was left shaking, and with a strange hollow feeling inside of her. The only person other than her family that knew about the inheritance was Sophia, and the two of them guarded it with their lives. Why had she gotten this strange urge to spill it all out to this infuriating man that she hardly knew?
The rest of the tutoring session went by without another interruption. But the feeling of his warm hand on hers was burned into her memory, and stayed there forever.
"So, Scarlett, what's your favorite part about Mr. Garra?"
It was Saturday afternoon. Scarlett, Faith, and Sophia had all gone to the mall for what Sophia called 'girl time'. After browsing through more stores than Scarlett cared to remember, they'd stopped at Starbucks and ordered coffee. Sophia was leading the conversation, filling them in on gossip when the strange topic suddenly came about.
"His hands." Scarlett answered imediately, realizing a second later that her friends were staring at her strangely. "Well, you know," she laughed, thinking desperately for an excuse. "Y'know how he's been tutoring me? Well, I try my best not to look at him at all, so usually I'm just looking at his hands while he's writing something."
"That makes sense." Faith nodded, smiling. They'd stopped at a hairdresser, and Faith's silvery hair was done in French braids that fit her perfectly. "Though I don't understand why you hate him so much."
"Are you kidding?" The smallest of the three rolled her eyes. "He's so annoying. He's always teasing me about stupid stuff."
"That's a sign of true love!" Sophia insisted, her eyes widening. "I swear it is!"
"You think everything is a sign of true love, Sophia," Faith laughed.
Scarlett grinned. She admitted, it was fun being able to hang out with girlfriends. Back at her private school, they were almost never allowed outside of school grounds. Here, she was able to relax.
"Okay, I have a game we need to play," Faith said suddenly, setting down her coffee. "Alright, it's called 'Two Points for Honesty'."
Scarlett nearly choked, but managed to cover it up with a cough.
"Okay, so, basically, we ask eachother really personal questions. You get one point for answering, and two for honesty."
"How do you know if they're being honest?" Sophia asked, seeming very interested in the game.
Faith winked. "We'll be able to tell."
"I think it sounds stupid." Scarlett muttered, looking off to the side.
"Don't be such a stick in the mud," Sophia encouraged with a grin. "Well, I want to start. My question is for Faith. Hmm.." She crossed her arms over her chest and pondered for a moment. "Alright, why did you want to skip a grade?"
Faith sighed, looking up at the ceiling. "Honestly, it was so I could be with my big brother. He's extremely protective of me, and was really worried when he came here for highschool and I was still in middleschool. So... I just made it easier for him, I guess."
"Two points for Faith!" Sophia announced, tallying it on a napkin at their table with a pen she'd just pulled from her purse.
"Now, I have one for Sophia." Faith frowned. "What's that mark on your throat?"
Sophia's hand instantly flew to trace the scar that crossed her throat. Scarlett stiffened beside her. "Faith, I don't think that's a-" She began, only to be cut off by Sophia.
"No, it's fine." She forced a small smile. "When I was little, I was attacked by a strange man who asked me some questions about Scarlett. I didn't tell him... so he tried to kill me."
They were silent for a long time. Faith finally smiled. "Thank you, Sophia. I'm sorry for asking so bluntly."
"Don't worry about it!" Sophia laughed, waving her hand nonchalantly. "It's just not something I get asked about often. Um... I have a question for Scarlett."
"Will it make me punch you in the face?"
"Probably."
"...Fine. Your funeral."
"Can I have the rest of your coffee?"
"Hell no!"
The strange man Sophia was talking about is Darkstripe, by the way. He tried to kill her in the books by feeding her deathberries.
Mary Forestein- Mousefur
Lloyd Forestein- Longtail
Faith Fureze- Feathertail
Dustin Lakeside- Dustpelt
Misty Rivers- Mistystar
Thorne Clarkson- Thornclaw
Ashton Woode- Ashfur (I'd have to kill you if you didn't get this one imediately.)
Alright! Interesting stuff going on, so I reccomend you stayed tuned!
My reviewers were: Meivava Sirenice, Sparkheart of ThunderClan, Queen Of The Pens, Nightkill, littlemisslibrarian, Swiftbreeze-Warriors. Thank you all so much! I really appreciate your support.
I'll try and update once a week, if possible. I'm trying to balance three fics that need to be updated regularly at once, so it's gonna be a bit shaky for me.
Please review! It's REALLY appreciated!