both her eyes and her neck, hoping he would take the opportunity to explore the plane of flesh with his tongue. For a moment, she actually thought he might, as she felt his breath on her ear, then swore she felt his lips ghost down her jawbone.
But just as quickly as the fire arose in her, his retraction doused her desire, leaving her feeling cold and discarded on the side of the wall.
“Unlike some people, I’ve learned how to deal with temptation and avoid things which will lead me away from my values.”
The victorious, smug smile on Marc’s face told her all she needed to know. He had gotten to her, on a carnal level even, and was completely aware of it. And it didn’t matter.
Without a further word, he pointed at the classroom door expectantly. Pushing off the locker, Riona stood straight, palmed over her skirt, and took a few deep breaths.
“Remember, we’re here to protect them,” Marc further warned. “Annoying or not, they’re innocents. Find the fucker who’s pretending to be one of them, and vanquish him. Stay focused. If you really need anything,” he pointed at the cracked wood door across the hall, “I’m right over there.”
Swearing she wasn’t going to get flustered in his sight ever again, Riona turned back toward her classroom. “Fine, I’ll ‘stay focused.’ But you say that like it’s so easy to tell the difference between a hormonal teenager and a minion from Hell.”
To her relief, the rest of the first class period passed without any further incidences or instigations that Riona’s qualifications were lacking. Second period delivered more of the same. By the time third period rolled around, Riona stood convinced that the difficulty of this whole teaching thing was overblown in the extreme by a bunch of whiny labor unions who didn’t think two months off a year after working only six hours a day was good enough.
When fourth period started, and Riona saw on her schedule that the subject was now Introduction to Statistics, she felt right in her wheelhouse. Hell, she felt like the CEO of the Intro to Stats Wheelhouse Emporium, and she was opening up the market to franchisees.
Then, the students arrived.
Just before the bell rang, just as Riona leaned over to brush a piece of lint off her charcoal gray pencil skirt, a move which, no doubt, perked her posterior out temptingly if viewed from behind, she heard someone sheepishly clear his throat. Assuming that it was Marc just checking up on her again — and a little pissed at his general are-you-sure-you’re-okay-iness, she growled her words.
“Damn it, priest, you can leave me alone already. I haven’t given out a single detention or vanquished anyone yet.”
When instead she turned to find Father Hermosa, the school principal, white-faced, red-eared and wide-eyed, she prayed for a divine intervention… Holy pit bulls that went for his feet and drew his attention away from her gaping expression, for example.
“Jesus… Christ, our savior!” she quickly recovered. “I’m sorry, Father. I thought you were… Never mind. I didn’t mean to shout.”
“Are you certain everything is okay, Ms. Dade?” He eyed her as though he doubted her sanity. “I know it’s the first time you’ve subbed with us. I want to be sure you’re carrying through. And, despite our best efforts, I know that children at St. Cecilia’s can be little demons sometimes.”
“Oh, I can handle demons!” she said with a laugh, adding in her head, though some demons are easier than some of these kids. When Hermosa clutched onto his stoicism, she cleared her throat, evened out her blouse with her fingertips, and stood erect. “Yes, Father, thank you. They’ve got some spirit, but so far, so good.”
“Good.” It wasn’t exactly confidence that was etched across his face from her reassurance. It looked more like constipation. Hermosa turned to the class as he shook his finger. “I expect everyone in here to be good for Ms. Dade. We’ve always taught you to be proper to guests, and you all should be ashamed of anyone who offers anything less than complete hospitality.”
A few more students straggled in as Father Hermosa skipped out, darting in just before the bell rang. Riona went to her desk and straightened a stack of papers, taking a moment and a deep breath. One more period, and then a break for lunch. Maybe then she could scan the cafeteria and see if she picked up any of the tingles that suggested either the presence of evil or very