Page 10 of Defined and Defiled
“I finished it when I took Melon out. I didn't figure you'd want to hear the rest.”
“Oh.” He says and floats over to my couch.
I try to watch his face but he keeps himself turned away from me.
“Did you want to hear the rest?”
“It did seem very intriguing. I wanted to know how he'd react when he realized she wasn't there to hurt him.”
“Well, this is part of a series. We could start book two tomorrow if you'd like?”
“That'd be dope.”
“It's settled then. Cupcakes and cocks tomorrow. Sounds like a great day.”
6
To-do List
Watch more cooking shows
When I wake up, Melon is in my bed taking up more space than you’d expect a dog of her stature to. As soon as she sees I’m awake, she stretches and we’re off. The same three trees receive their daily watering from Melon as we walk the neighborhood.
Even the sun is too shy to come out yet. The distant sound of a rooster crow is the only sound of life at this time. I am a morning person by trade, not by choice. After a quick shower and brushing my teeth, I went to wake Richard. His pages are still spread out, and ruffle with each deep breath he takes. His ribbon bookmark has fallen out and hangs loose on the couch..
“Come on sleepyhead, it’s time for work.” I nudge his side. Wednesday’s are my long days with carpool duty in the morning and the Homework Helpers meeting after school.
“Couldn’t you just carry me?” He mutters. I reach down and place the fallenribbon back inside of his pages and he shutters slightly before I close him.
“I could, but then you’d miss out on what happens next to Edith.” I grin.
“Shirley- do not use my love for literature against me. It is too damn early in the morning.” He huffs. “And next time don't put my ribbon back, I can do it myself.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I should have asked first.” I grab my laptop bag, badge, and keys and move to grab Richard but he activates his doodle and floats near me.
“It’s alright. It’s just,” he pauses to think, “I think the ribbon may act like another tongue for me. It’s fine when it’s in my pages, but when you touch it, well. I don’t think you want to start the day with me licking you.”
I struggled to think of anything less appealing than to be woken up by being licked by him but I got his point. Melon’s sloppy kisses were enough.
“Got it, so your ribbon is a tongue, and your face can sort of break the barrier of yourcover but not really. And you have magic doodles.” I shoot my hand into my laptop bag. “Oh, which reminds me. May I?” I nodded to his body and he nodded. It wasn’t hard to flip back to the page where that nasty heart was, and I put a thick, pink tab over it. “I don’t think we should leave that out in the open just in case. I’m not trying to get you put on the banned book list.”
I step back to admire my work before Richard closes himself.
Richard has a lot of questions for me as we drive to the school. Mostly about the anatomy of faes and the ethics of sleeping with your captive. We debate over whether we’d survive in the fae realm and I update him on all the new vampire movies that have sprung up since 1994. He seems delighted to learn about things that sparkle before they go bump in the night. The drive feels shorter than usual as we pull into the parking lot. A few other members of the faculty are there but most of them will trickle in while the early arrivals kids are eating their breakfast.
Mike’s car is not in the lot and I’m thankful for that as I grab Richard and head into the school.I’m still not a hundred percent sure what I will do with him, but thirty-five eleven year olds are still less of a risk than leaving him with Melon.
When all things are said and done, working the carpool line is not the worst school duty to have. I love seeing the kindergartener hurry into the school with backpacks twice their size and their mom’s lipstick staining their cheek. My students hi-five me when they walk past. I’m able to wave down Sophie’s mom when she drops her off. Sophie’s bangs are lop-sided from where she must have slept on them.
“Good morning Ms. Sophie, might I suggest you stop by the bathroom on the way in?” I wave at my own hair and her eyes go wide. She runs ahead so I can talk to her mom about her habit of leaving her things behind. Some days it feels like she’s trying to move into the classroom.
I make a mental note to scratch talking to Sophie’s parents off my to-do list. The last of the cars pull out of the lot. Now it’s time for the high schoolers to start driving in, which is decidedly not my business. At least not until 3pm when the Homework Helpers arrive.
My class is a little rowdy when I walk in. Richard is perched face-down on my desk. As far as observations go, he’s not the worst person to have sitting in my classroom.
“Good morning everyone. Ribbit.”
“Ribbit.” They reply in unison. There's the few usual giggles but mostly they fall silent.
