Page 106 of Satan's Spawn
Beckett takes a step back, taken by my command, and Felix’s face twists with aggravation.
Rebecca’s too if I’m doing the honest thing.
Gross.
“Hm, you know what?” Beckett chirps, holding up a finger. “I’ll allow it. I think a mind like hers will be a great challenge for you, Mr. Shaw.”
He’s not wrong there.
This girl challenges every bit of my fucking insanity.
“Mr. Beckett!” Rebecca raises her hand, already rattled by the idea.
“Yes Rebecca? Will this be an issue for you?”
All eyes are on my Little Ghost, waiting for her response, to see if she’ll take the bait.
Rebecca seems to be contemplating the meaning of life before she finally makes her decision and shakes her head. “No, sir, it won’t be.”
“Perfect, so Felix can partner up with Miss Ivanov then, leaving Miss Montgomery and Mr. Lavell to work together.”
I can hear the groan of disapproval come from Rebecca’s sidekick, Hendrix.
Not a sound from Saint, which says a lot more than her friend may think.
Interesting.
Hendrix better be careful, Saint’s bites are almost as lethal as mine.
Everybody stands, shifting around the room to their partners, and Rebecca has her head down as she makes her way over to me, squeezing several books to her chest.
“I’m not doing all the work this time, I’m exhausted because of you.” She says, defeated, as she slides into the seat next to mine.
I’m tempted to ask if it’s because of my assignments or her dream, but decide that might scream stalker a little too loudly.
I like my right to privacy.
“There’s not much work to do, so don’t get your virgin panties in a bunch. It’s obvious what ‘Alone’ is about.” I reach for the lighter in my pocket, flicking it on and passing my hand slowly over it.
Rebecca looks on as if watching an extraterrestrial moonwalk, then shakes her head to snap out of it.
“First, don’t talk about my damn panties.”
If she’s offended by that, wait till she finds out I’m carrying a pair of them in my pocket.
“Second, if it’s so,” she air quotes the word “obvious”, then adds, “why don’t you tell me what the meaning behind it is?”
I lean in to Rebecca slowly, replacing her sudden boldness with tense shoulders and a deep held breath. She’s nervous, which is exactly how I want her.
“That would require me making this tolerable for you.” I whisper, adding, “We can’t have that, now can we?”
With a disgruntled moan, Rebecca scrapes her desk away from me, then lifts the paper and begins to read “Alone” by Edgar Allan Poe out loud. All the way to the very cryptic end.
When I say nothing, she takes it upon herself to form her own opinion.
“I think it’s about the death of the women in Poe’s life. His mother, adoptive mother, even his wife.” Rebecca remarks evidently as she places the paper back down on the desk. “Hence the heaven at the end.”
Wrong.
