Chapter 52

Tessa’s POV

The next day

“We should send flowers to Miss Peabody. I hear she fell ill.”

“Maybe we can get everyone to sign a card as well!”

I heard the murmurs of students as I put my things in my locker and I frowned at Ruby who leaned against her own locker, watching as those students walked by.

“What’s going on?” I asked her, obviously, I had missed something while I’d been so wrapped up with Joseph.

“Miss Peabody is sick. I guess she’s out for the rest of the semester,” Ruby explained.

“What?” I gasped. “Who’s going to be teaching her writing course?”

Miss Peabody would have been our writing professor if Joseph hadn’t come along and offered his special writing course. Her classroom was right next to his and she’s worked at this school for years. We always joked that she was immortal because she was so old, and retirement was never even a thought that crossed her mind.

“I heard there’s a new teacher coming to replace her,” Ruby answered.

A new teacher? In the middle of the semester?

That’ll be a hard adjustment.

Later in the day, I remembered that Joseph wanted to see me in his office during lunch to discuss my paper. He made sure to remind me about it once we got to school this morning. I’m assuming he spent most of the morning napping because I hadn’t seen him all day until lunch when I went to his office.

The teacher’s office section on the top floor was fairly empty considering most teachers ate in the break room near the cafeteria. Only a few teachers ate in their offices.

Joseph’s office door was sealed shut and even though he knew I was coming to see him. I still felt the need to knock.

“Come in,” I heard his tired voice saying from the other side of the door.

I opened the door to be met with a dark office. His light was completely off, and he had shades covering his window to keep the sunlight out.

“You can turn on the light,” he said as he yawned.

I turned on the light and saw that he was adjusting his shirt.

“Were you sleeping?” I asked, shutting the door behind me.

“Yes. Only for a little while though.”

“I’m sorry to disturb your sleep,” I said, feeling my face redden slightly.

His shirt was completely unbuttoned, revealing his incredible muscular torso.

“I was the one who wanted to see you,” he reminded me as he buttoned his shirt.

“Oh, right,” I said, giving a nervous laugh.

I felt myself growing shy, which was out of character for me. I typically wasn’t a shy person. I tried to be as outgoing as I could, and I supposed I had Brian to thank for that. It was because of him and his stuck-up friends that I became outgoing.

“Take a seat,” he said, motioning for a chair in front of his desk.

I sat down and peered up at him, waiting for him to speak.

“So, I read over your recent assignment. It was an interesting read and I quite enjoyed it,” he started.

I wasn’t going to tell him that I already saw the grade he gave me and the comment when I went into his office yesterday to grab his book.

“But I had concerns about the protagonists. They seem oddly familiar. Like you were speaking from experience.”

“If you are wondering if the ‘monster’ of the story is based on you, then the answer is yes,” I answered his unspoken question, causing his right brow to lift.

“So, it’s true then. You think of me as a monster.”

“That’s not what I said. You were just the inspiration. But you are not a monster. I don’t think you will kill me. It’s nothing more than a fantasy story,” I explained.

“There must be some part of you that thinks of me as a monster.”

“You’re a vampire, so I suppose naturally yes. Hence the inspiration. But I’m not calling you evil. In this story, the protagonists are also in love. We are not. Not everything is true in this story,” I told him.

He was quiet for a moment as he assessed my face.

Just as he opened his mouth to say something, his office door swung open, averting both our attentions to the intruder.

“Oh, my god. I am so sorry. This is definitely not my office,” a woman gasped at the doorway.

I was stunned to see a gorgeous-looking girl, no older than 25, standing in the doorway of Joseph’s office.

This woman didn’t look like any teacher I had ever seen before. In fact, she looked more like a student with the clothing she wore. The blouse she had fit tightly around her thin torso and made her boobs look huge. Or maybe they were just huge in general, but the V shape shirt left no mystery of her cleavage. The shirt rested just above her belly button that was decorated with a sapphire gem piercing. She wore tight jeans that were ripped in some areas showing off her flawless legs.

She had a pixie-cut hairstyle with streaks of sapphire blue and a blue piercing in her nose. It didn’t look like she wore any makeup, but with her full lips and her almond eyes with long and dark lashes, she didn’t need any makeup.

She was intimidatingly gorgeous.

“I’m looking for Miss. Peabody’s office. I’m her replacement teacher, Emily Thorton.”

THE Emily Thorton??

She’s a famous travel blogger that I used to follow religiously. She’s been all over the world and writes about her experiences. She’s truly inspirational. I knew she looked somewhat familiar, but she doesn’t really post many pictures of herself and the ones that she does post are really old.

What was she doing at our school as a writing teacher? A beginners writing teacher at that.

“It’s actually down the hall,” Joseph said, standing to his feet. “I’ll walk you there. I’m Joseph Evergreen. I’m also teaching writing in the room next to yours.”

“Wait… Joseph Evergreen? The famous fantasy writer??” Emily gasped, her eyes growing large. “Oh, my god. Did I seriously just barge into the office of a famous writer? Way to go, Emily,” she muttered to herself.

“I mean, you’re quite famous yourself, Miss Thorton. I love your blog,” Joseph said in return.

Emily’s face reddened at the compliment.

“I’m certainly not as famous as you. And please, call me Emily. I’m not much into formal titles.”

“Well, Emily. Let me show you where your office is,” Joseph said as he motioned for the door.

She chuckled and then her eyes found mine.

“Oh, I’m sorry. If you are busy, I can find the office myself,” she said, glancing back up at Joseph.

Joseph stared down at me, and I felt like shrinking away at that moment. There was no expression on his face, which slightly hurt, but I didn’t let that show on my face. Joseph turned back to Emily.

“We were actually just finishing up. This is my student, Tessa. We were discussing an assignment. But she should get to lunch now before it’s over.”

That was his way of telling me to leave.

I wasn’t going to go against him, especially in front of this new teacher. I stood up and grabbed my bag in the process and scurried towards the door, only glancing at Emily briefly.

“It was nice meeting you, Miss Thorton. I’m a huge fan,” I managed to say, trying to keep the hurt out of my voice.

“Miss Thorton is my mother. Please, call me Emily.”

“Emily,” I repeated, giving her a kind smile.

I glanced at Joseph once more before leaving his office.