Chapter 27 #2
“I’m not freezing your screen until you tell us who he is.” Dane grinned, crossing his arms.
“Come on, Miss Duval. You seem happier today. And you’re smiling at your phone. Show us who he is!” Benson chimed in.
“You too?” I gasped, shocked, and he nodded slowly.
“Miss Duval has a boyfriend. Miss Duval has a boyfriend!” they began chanting. I rolled my eyes.
“I never said that.” I didn’t confirm nor deny what they were saying.
“Okay, well, you like whoever it is, even if he is or isn’t your boyfriend.” Selena crossed her arms, as nosy and perceptive as always.
I sighed. “I’ll admit to that,” I said flatly, and my class cheered, excitedly.
“We want to see him!” Caralee shouted. Agreements rose chaotically around the room.
“No,” I shortly said, shutting it down immediately.
But teenagers were brutal, and they didn’t give up.
“At least one Picsnap. Please!” They begged over and over.
And over.
And over.
“Fine!” I exclaimed, groaning. “You guys are giving me a headache. One snap. That’s it.” I picked up my phone and opened the app. Pausing before I dared to look at the one sitting unopened, I glanced up at my class.
“Before I ask for him to send one, I need to warn you. He’s with some friends and they are…” I paused, not sure how to explain them. “Extravagant,” I finally finished. That wasn’t even the right word, but I knew that whatever he was going to send in reply to my request was going to be unique.
Keeping my earbud in, I carefully opened the video really quickly to find Drake on his knees, thanking me so graciously for saving his nuts. I snorted and then promptly let the Picsnap close. Taking the earbud out of my ear, I stood up.
“All right, say cheese!” I took a picture of my class and then typed a caption on it.
My class wants to say hi and meet you. But make sure you cover any defining features that would give you away. Like your face. And tattoos. And earrings. And yeah….
Then I sent it and we waited. It was quiet. So deathly quiet that I could hear the muffled voices coming from Elysia’s classroom across the hallway—even with my door closed.
The anticipation was thick, on edge as the icon finally changed from unopened to open. I turned my screen around so my class could see it.
“He opened it,” I stated, and they all slid forward in their chairs.
We waited as the entire class sat on the edge of their seats.
My heart was racing in my throat, wondering what he would come up with.
Wondering how he would keep them from figuring out who he was.
There were a lot of distinct markers that he would have to cover up.
Like pretty much his entire delicious body that I was desperate to get home to and alone with.
Then the notification changed. And it was a video.
My mouth fell open as I stared at the screen. What the hell was he thinking? Sending a video? Would that not mean more room for mistakes?
“Miss Duval! What? What is it?” My class all gasped.
I swallowed stiffly and flipped the phone around. “It’s a video.”
The girls all stood up, chairs flipping backwards. “Project it to the big screen!” they simultaneously shouted.
“I don’t know how to do that,” I replied in relief.
“I do,” Dane said, slowly rising from his chair like the hero that I really didn’t want right now. Groaning, I watched as he walked up to me and asked for my phone.
Hesitating, I pressed it against my chest and narrowed my gaze. “Only for this one Picsnap, and then you take it off that screen. Yes?”
“Yes, Miss Duval,” he confirmed, and I cautiously handed it over. He typed a few things on my computer and then on my phone, and suddenly my screen was projected against the whiteboard. Massive and glaringly evident for everyone to see.
“Okay. Once again, a warning. Whatever he sent will not leave this room, understand?” I asked, my finger hovering over the Picsnap.
“Yes, Miss Duval,” they all stated in unison.
And I pressed the button.
The video slowly zoomed in on four backs. Black hoodies on all of them. But I knew, simply from body type and height, who was who. Asher was second to the right, standing a hair taller than Kieron. Drake was on his left with Jaxon on the far side.
Then the video ended. That was it.
My class groaned. “We need another one,” Selena cried out.
“I’m not going to argue with you on that,” I said, and quickly sent a reply Picsnap stating that very thing. “But like I said, they’re extravagant.”
We waited with a little less tension before a second video came through. I tapped it not nearly as cautiously as I should’ve.
This time, all four of them were facing the screen, long-sleeved hoodies still on, with gloves covering their hands. They’d placed their palms against their faces and stared between their eyes. First, they glared, and then all four of them grinned with all their teeth.
“Your girl is fucking demanding,” Kieron grumbled, and Asher swung to glare at him.
“No, she’s not. And watch your language, she’s teaching teenagers for fuck’s sake,” Asher hissed through gritted teeth and then looked back at the screen as my cheeks burned.
I assumed one of the girls was recording as he continued to speak, and I desperately tried to end the video.
“I’m sorry. For both of us. Can we start this over?
Delete the video, we can’t send this shit to her. She’ll play—”
And the video feed cut out. My mouth fell wide open as I stared at the now blank screen.
Silence so still a penny dropped a mile away could be heard in the room. I was not the only one stunned by what had just happened. Then the notification changed to a new video.
“I’m not opening that,” I stated.
“Why not? We won’t tell anyone!” Caralee whined. Murmured agreements rippled through the class, and then Dane’s voice pierced through the hum of talking.
“I did not picture that for your type,” he said.
“You can’t see a thing about him. They all look almost the same. So how do you know which type he is or what he’s like or even which one of them he is?” Benson mocked, annoyed.
“It doesn’t matter which one it is. They all have this hard-core vibe, I can tell,” Dane replied and curled his lip up, disgusted.
“We’re not doing that, boys,” I reprimanded them, and they both shook their heads.
“Sorry, Miss Duval.”
“Look, I apologize, guys. But I have no idea if it’ll be appropriate and—”
“Were they standing on a stage? Like a concert stage?” Selena cut in, not allowing me to finish my reasoning for why I won’t let them see the next video. I shouldn’t have been so surprised, though. This was Asher and his friends we were talking about…
My heart stopped. Time to lie. “Probably a green screen or something,” I replied and locked my phone.
“Oh, come on. We have just a couple more minutes of class, and they sent another video for us. Just one more try?” Maddie begged. Even Lily stood up, muttering her request as well.
I sighed. “Fine, but I wash my hands of their language. Or anything else that may happen, and if you report me to the principal or tell anyone outside of this class, I might get fired. Do you want that?” I unlocked my phone and hovered my finger over the unread snap.
“We won’t say a word! We promise!” the entire class gushed. Taking a deep breath, I swallowed stiffly. Just one more, that’s it.
And tapped the screen.
They were back, hands over their faces, with those scary grins plastered between their palms. “Your teacher is hot, so be nice to her,” Asher said and wiggled his brows. I closed my eyes, embarrassed.
“Is that appropriate?” Kieron asked beside him.
Asher shrugged his shoulders. “I didn’t swear, did I, dipshit?”
“Now you did. Dumbass.”
Asher faced the screen, deadpanned, and blinked rapidly. “Well, that happened.”
Suddenly, Jaxon and Drake spun around and stepped directly in front of Asher and Kieron. The moment they were facing those two, I watched both men furrow their brows. Then Jaxon and Drake smacked both of them in the balls and ran off the stage.
“YOU DICKHEADS!” Asher and Kieron grunted, bending over in pain and crumpling to the ground.
“I’m sorry. That wasn’t any better,” Nova’s voice was heard, and then the camera cut out.
Silence, once again.
My entire class stared at the blank screen as I locked my phone. What a great first impression. Can he not be serious for maybe five minutes? I really would like to keep my job, but that might have just been messed up because of those idiots.
“We,” Selena gasped. “Love them!” Squeals shot through the silence, snapping everyone out of the stupor that had us bound. I slowly turned around to look at my class.
“Wh-what?” I stammered. Grins were on each and every face in front of me.
“They’re hilarious. Which one was yours? Did he get hit in the balls or hit someone else’s?” Benson asked, shocking me that he was the one speaking.
“Uh, he got hit.” I paused and tipped my head, remembering Drake’s earlier comments. “But that was probably deserved if I’m being honest.” I chuckled. It was kind of funny.
“So, he’s one of the taller ones. Perfect.” Caralee grinned and whispered something to Selena just as the bell rang to release class.
“Remember! This didn’t happen!” I warned them. Agreements filled the air as everyone packed up their bags. Dane walked to my computer and disconnected my phone from the screen before pausing and grinning.
“You are way cooler than I originally thought.” He shrugged his backpack up on his shoulder.
“Thank you?” I questioned, and he nodded.
“It’s a compliment. I guess I judged a book by its cover. Shame on me. See you tomorrow, Miss Duval,” he replied and walked out of my classroom.
I slumped down into my spinny chair. Those boys were in for a scolding of their lives when school let out.