“Ms. Mazkov! I demand you give me a better grade! I did the essay- what more do you want?” What a great way to start the day after last night. The sarcasm dripped from my inner voice, and I glanced up from my grading with a blank expression. Cassandra stood over me in all her haughty glory, waving her essay in my face, and I set down my pen to sigh heavily.

“Cassandra, I couldn’t read any of it. You have to make it legible, at the very least.” I nearly cringed remembering all of the time I’d wasted the day before trying to grade the assignments. Gasping dramatically, Cassandra leaned back to crumple up her paper. Watching her throw her little tantrum, I kept my face as neutral as possible even as disgust clung to my ribs.

For a girl with so many resources, it shouldn’t have been so offending to be expected to produce readable material.

“How dare you say that! I’m going to get you fired for discrimination!” My lip twitched, an involuntary need to laugh washing over me, and Cassandra flipped her curly, brown hair with flare. “My mom has a lot of influence here, and if you don’t change my grade, I’ll get her to go to the Headmistress.”

“Go ahead.” 20 pairs of eyes rested on me in the shocked silence that enveloped my classroom, and I carefully pushed myself to my feet. Cassandra was a few inches shorter than me in her school issued heels, and she backed up as a pure what the fuck expression crossed her face. “Call your mother. As a matter of fact- I’ll call your mother for you and let her know that I want a meeting with her regarding your behavior in my classroom.”

Pushing past the 14 year old, I glanced at the clock and prayed the next five minutes would go by quickly until the bell rang. Every student’s attention was on me, and I took this rare moment to address my class. Clearing my throat, I clasped my hands in front of me before opening my mouth.

“I will grade you all on what you present to me. If I can’t read it, you’ll get a grade in accordance. I’ve told you all this when you first came into my class. Since Cassandra was so adamant about bringing her mother into this, I’ll be making calls to all of your families to make sure that they understand I’m not failing you for no reason. Anyone have a problem?” Silence met my question, and I nodded firmly before making my way back to my desk. Cassandra still stood, so mad that red bled into her face and her fists shook, and I stared her down until she huffed loudly.

There was a certain safety in working for such a crappy school; it was too hard to hire new instructors, so I didn’t have to worry about my job in jeopardy.

“Please continue with your assignments. Julianne and Charlotte, I would appreciate it if you could both stay after class for a few minutes to discuss some things with me.” Seating myself, I pointedly ignored Cassandra as she continued to hover over my desk like an angry statue. Eventually she stormed off out of my room, and I made a note to mark that in her attendance.

Once the door slammed behind Cassandra, a lightness took over my chest, and I let out a heavy sigh through my nose. Pursing my lips into a thin line, I rested my forehead on my fingers and picked up my pen to continue grading. The class remained silent, but slowly the sounds of pencils scraping against paper began to fill the void. No one spoke, and there was a noticeable tension in the room.

No doubt these girls would try to talk me out of calling their parents. It was honestly pathetic how my students acted when no one was around to rat them out, and their apprehension was thick on my bare arms.

“You wanted to see us, Ms. Mazkov?” The call drew my attention, and I nodded absently as Charlotte twirled one of her corkscrew curls in her finger. Like Julianne, she didn’t do well with any sort of confrontation, and I leaned back in my chair to look at her fully. “Uh- Julie filled me in… I’m going to do marine biology, if that’s okay?”

“Of course, it is, Charlotte. I just want to know if you have any questions.” Both girls shook their heads, and Charlotte was the first to back away and head for the door. Cocking my head at Julianne, I knew my question sparkled in my eyes. Her cheeks stained red, and she ducked her head before glancing back to make sure we were alone.

“A- actually… I was wondering if I could study here for a while until my brother comes to get me?” This was three days in a row, I realized. Blinking slowly, I nodded as my brows came together. As if sensing my question, Julianne shuffled her messenger bag on her shoulder in discomfort. “It’s just- my parents are in China this week trying to get this new deal, and my brother doesn’t get out of work until 4p.m..”

“I’m happy to have you here, Julianne. You’re welcome to stay as long as you want.” My words had an instant effect, and I narrowed my eyes on her as she walked to her desk. I might need to have a talk with this brother.

I’d never even met Julianne’s parents or brother. From what I knew, her father was in oil, and her mother was a huge fashion designer. Neither had time for her even to pick her up from school; she usually had a driver like the other girls.

Turning back to my papers, I frowned behind my curtain of hair. Julianne reminded me of myself; my mother worked three jobs and the only thing stopping my siblings and I from burning the house down was my eldest brother. When she wasn’t working, she was sleeping a precious few hours just to go back to work.

It appeared that both sides of the spectrum weren’t so different as most might think.

“Sorry I’m so late, JJ. I-“ Whirling around at the clearly male voice that boomed through my classroom, I nearly fell out of my chair from surprise. Clutching the armrests tightly, my blood instantly filled with adrenaline as my heart sprung into my throat. The room spun, and I blinked hard before really seeing who was crowding my door.

My breath caught as Roark stared at me through wide eyes, mouth agape, and I clicked my teeth in an effort to keep them together. He was just as handsome as I remembered in his fresh, crisp button down, and my gaze trailed absently down his loose tie before snapping to his face when he cleared his throat.

“Excuse me- uh… I didn’t mean to intrude.” Roark’s voice was buttery smooth, deep, and my lips twitched in a smile as it wrapped around me. “I didn’t know you worked here, Ally?”

“So, you do remember me…” Speaking up before I had a chance to stop myself, my smile widened at the faint redness that filled Roark’s cleanly shaven cheeks. Pushing myself up from my chair, I shook my head at how adorable he was. The notion sent a shiver down my spine, and I clasped my suddenly clammy palms together before he spoke up again.

“Yes… Well… I don’t usually come in, but I was hoping to speak to you about something.” Glancing away, Roark drew my attention to Julianne as she looked frantically between us, and he smiled tenderly before addressing her. “Why don’t you go wait in the car, JJ. I just need a quick word.”

“Uh… yeah- sure. Okay.” Hurriedly packing up her stuff, Julianne was gone in a matter of seconds. She shut the door softly, and once I heard the click of the mechanism, I let out a gust of a breath. Across the room, Roark visibly shoved off the awkwardness that threatened to drown me. Envy spread through my chest, and he strode over to lean on the desk closest to mine.

He wasn’t model material by any means, but the sight of him still took my breath away, and my heart pattered in my chest. Roark’s shrew, bright, hazel eyes scanned me slowly, assessing, and I blinked when they met mine. Still blinding. Jesus.

“Julianne told me you’re different than the other instructor’s here.” My cheeks warmed at that, and Roark cracked a small smile before his expression became professionally stoic again. It was too bad I couldn’t seem to do that, but I couldn’t dwell on it when he continued speaking. “Do you have anyone in your class named Cassandra Geroni?”

“Yes, I do. Why?” Surprise colored my voice, and Roark pursed his lips together in what looked like irritation. My ‘teacher’ mode kicked in, and I frowned under furrowed brows as he sighed roughly.

“Julianne is being bullied online by her and a few other girls. I’ve tried to contact the school since the beginning of the semester about it, but no one seems to care. Her other teachers are reporting that her grades are slipping- she mentioned that you made her feel safe, so I was hoping you’d be able to help.”

“’Safe’… that’s the word she used for me, specifically?” Incredulous annoyance leaked into my tone, pouring into my chest when Roark nodded firmly. A fine, red mist settled in my mind, and I flexed my fingers absently as I tried to comprehend the situation.

Of course Julianne would be a target for bullying; she was quiet, shy, and meek.

Rubbing my forehead with the butt of my palm, I tilted my head back and made a feeble attempt at the thought.

“Okay… I can’t really do anything about the cyberbullying, Roark. It’s online, and unless it happens in my classroom…” Letting the implication hang in the air, I lifted my head to stare at Roark through narrowed eyes. “What, exactly, were you expecting? This is my first-year teaching, and even if it wasn’t, I doubt anyone would listen to me. This school is toxic- not to say she won’t be bullied somewhere else if you pulled her out.”

“I know- I mean, I don’t really know what I was expecting… I just- Julianne was there for me after the accident and I want to return the favor.” My eyelids parted so far, they filled with fluid, and I couldn’t stop my jaw from dropping. Before me, Roark stiffened, and he reached to rub his jaw roughly. “Shit- you probably don’t know about that. Anyway- the point is, I need to help her. She’s my little sister.”

“N- no, I didn’t. But- Roark… I can only help her when she’s with me, and she doesn’t have any problems in my class.” Struggling to stay on track after such a bomb landed smack in the middle of an already volatile conversation, I took a slightly unsteady breath. “You have to know that the system is reactive, not proactive, Roark. No one here is going to take bullying seriously until someone ends up hurt or dead. Believe me, I know what Julianne is going through- I really, really do- but she’s only with me an hour out of the day.”

“… I understand, Ally.” The strained quality in Roark’s voice was painful to listen to, and I automatically reached out to touch his arm. He didn’t pull back, and after a brief second took a sharp inhale. “Listen- I know we have a bit to talk about. Would you like to come to dinner with me tomorrow night?”

“Y- yeah. Sure. I’m sorry I couldn’t be more help, Roark- really, I am.” Butterflies fluttered in my stomach, and Roark offered me something between a smirk and a grimace. Pushing himself off the desk, he wandered towards the door to escape my classroom quietly, and I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding.