Total pages in book: 27
Estimated words: 25920 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 130(@200wpm)___ 104(@250wpm)___ 86(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 25920 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 130(@200wpm)___ 104(@250wpm)___ 86(@300wpm)
“Mr. Lamb?” she says when I don’t answer. “Are we all done?”
“He’s done,” the little shit in the front row says.
The bell rings and the kids all jump up with cheers.
“Well, it looks like it’s recess anyway,” Aubrey says as I stare at her. I’m being drawn to her in the strongest way. I don’t have the strength to pull my eyes away from her. I can’t bear to move from her seductive presence.
“Thank you for coming to visit us,” she says. “Class, can you say thank you?”
“Thank you!” they all shout at the same time.
It’s time for me to go. My time with her is over.
So, why can’t I move my legs? They’re rooted to the floor.
I take a deep breath and start walking toward the door, feeling like I’m in a daze. My bear jumps up and snarls in my ear. It startles me so much that I jump to the side and crash into a cabinet with a globe on it. It falls over and smashes on the ground so loud that everyone inside the classroom freezes.
My bear hasn’t snarled like that in over two decades and he chooses to do it now when I finally found a girl that can change everything?
Thanks a lot, I tell him.
He just keeps snarling and growling as he thrashes around. I know it’s because I’m headed for the door. He’s acting in the exact same way that Ethan’s grizzly acted when he found Chloe.
“You broke the world!” the chubby kid says as he points at the broken globe.
“You monster!” the cute little blonde girl shouts.
Another kid is crying. They’re all staring at me, including Aubrey.
I take a deep breath and then run out the door.
Smooth, Carter. Really fucking smooth.
Chapter Three
Aubrey
“I don’t want to go outside,” Max whines as the class empties for recess. “It’s too cold and I don’t like the way the snow is all crunchy under my boots.”
“You have to go outside, Max,” I say in the most patient voice I can muster as I push him out the door. “Teachers need their breaks too.”
I’m rubbing my head and already feeling a migraine coming on as I watch the kids get dressed and filter out the door.
Once the last one is gone, I head over to the teacher’s lounge to grab a cup of coffee.
Crap.
Stacy and Karen are sitting at the table and talking in low voices. They suddenly stop talking when I walk into the room. They’re probably gossiping about how I was late this morning. Let them gossip. I don’t even care.
I grab a mug and throw a coffee pod into the machine.
“Have you heard from Nathalie?” Stacy asks Karen.
I curse under my breath as I stare at the coffee that’s not coming out fast enough. Nathalie was the teacher I’m taking over for. She went on maternity leave two months ago and I’ve been struggling to stand in her very large footsteps.
“I have,” Karen says as the coffee takes forever.
Come on. Come on.
“I miss her so much,” Stacy says with an inflection in her voice that’s aimed right at me. “Everything ran so much smoother when she was here.”
“I know,” Karen answers. “And poor Gwendolyn has so much extra work to do now that she’s gone.”
“I heard she’s going to have to stay late tonight to catch up on work,” Stacy says loud enough for me to hear. “Since she was… preoccupied this morning.”
My neck and cheeks get hot as I turn around. “My car broke down,” I say in a timid voice. “It’s not like I was trying to be late. I was stranded on the road with the freezing cold wind for an hour while I waited for a tow truck that I can’t afford.”
I hate that I always feel so weak and timid around them. But this is their school and I’m just the substitute filling in.
They give each other a look that I just want to slap off their smug faces. These two preach to their classes about bullying and then do the same thing they preach against to me.
“It’s the third time this month,” Karen says as she gives me a look that makes my jaw clench. “Maybe it’s time to buy a new car.”
“Maybe,” I mutter as my coffee finishes. I quickly pour some milk in and take it with me. “But I live on my own. Not everyone has a rich husband to buy them whatever they want.”
“She’s not going to get a husband dressing like that,” I hear Stacy whisper as I hurry out.
God, I’m really starting to hate this town.
As if things aren’t bad enough, my phone is vibrating when I get back to the class. It’s the mechanic calling to tell me that the repairs are going to be nine hundred dollars.
I nearly start crying. My credit card is maxed out already and my credit sucks with all of the student loans I have. I can’t afford nine hundred dollars, especially since I’m about to be evicted.