Chapter 18: Something Sinister in the Situation

Freya’s P.O.V

Monday morning passed by like a breeze. With my lunch making attempt with Julian on Sunday still fresh in my mind, I went from class to class without getting into any trouble and actually found myself paying more attention in class that I usually did.

My only hope had been that the rest of the day would pass by the same, without any problems or complaints from my teachers…but I guess the universe didn’t want me to be happy or enjoy one single, peaceful day.

“Freya, submit your work.” Mr. Agnes called out to me at the end of class, five minutes before the bell rang.

Startled, I looked around the room, feeling like everyone’s eyes were on me. Everyone, except Cameron. He didn’t even turn or smirk like the rest of his team. Ever since he paid a visit to the restaurant last week, he or any of his friends hadn’t shown up again or even bothered to say anything to me, mean or otherwise.

I should be happy…but I wasn’t.

“Freya!” Mr. Agnes snapped; adjusting his glasses over hazel eyes as he placed his hands on his waist. “Did you even bother to complete one single paper?”

“N-no…” I stood up from my seat on shaky legs, feeling humiliated and frustrated at the same time. “Y-you said by the en-”

“Yes, I said by the end of this month! But that doesn’t mean you won’t even touch a single paper!” He clearly had a bone to pick with me today; and I had no idea why. “There were twenty worksheets for Christ’s sake! How are you going to complete them all at once? There’s no way you’re going to college at this rate. At least try to pass high school!”

“S-sorry.” I lowered my head, clutching at the sleeves of my hoodie.

“Enough!” He yelled, making me flinch back. “Stay back after class!”

“The rest of you,” he turned to the other students who were enjoying my misery till now as they giggled and whispered, pointing their fingers at me. “Turn in your assignments by the end of this week.”

Groans sounded from all over as the bell rang, signalling the end of class. The room began to empty out quickly, since it was the last class of the day and it seemed that not everyone was fond of math either.

“Mr. Agnes.” The sweet voice that belonged to none other than Sarah Parker herself, came from in front of the class. “Can I give Freya my notebook? To help her solve the equations.”

That had me looking up towards the front of the class, to find Sarah, in pink full-sleeved cardigan and blue jeans, standing in front of the teacher. She looked back at me once, her green eyes wide as she smiled a small smile in my direction. Her smile was contagious enough that it made the corner of my lips tilt up.

But then I noticed Cameron by the doorway, leaning his back against the wood as he waited for Sarah to catch up and my smile fell instantly.

Of course he would wait for her. They were a couple, weren’t they? The school’s golden boy and the golden girl. The head cheerleader and the Football team captain. They weren’t just any couple, they were the ‘it’ couple.

“No need to trouble yourself, Sarah.” Mr. Agnes’s tone completely changed as he smiled hugely at her. “I’ll tutor her myself if I have to. You’re one of our top students, shouldn’t bother with such menial tasks.”

Sarah looked torn as she looked back at me and then back at Mr. Agnes. But then she sighed and nodded her head, before heading towards the door. Cameron immediately wrapped an arm around her shoulder as they left the class together. I felt my heart sink a little more, seeing just how close they were.

‘Stop it, Freya!’ I scolded myself mentally. ‘Don’t bring any more misery upon yourself! Cameron was always way out of your league! Forget about him! Forget about this stupid crush.’

“Freya, come up front.” Mr. Agnes’s voice brought me back to reality and I cleared out my desk and brought all my books to the front of class where I could start filling out my worksheets.

If I was quick, I should be able to convince Mr. Agnes to let me go, so I could pick Julian up from school on time.

“Take out Paper 1.” Mr. Agnes folded up his books and put them inside before closing the drawer. “I’ll help with the first few problems and you can do the rest on your own.”

“Yes, sir.” I told his quietly, but what had me frowning was the fact that he then got up from his seat and went to close the door to the class.

What the-what was going on?

Suddenly, I got this overwhelming sense in my stomach that something wasn’t right. I stood up from my seat immediately, clutching my bag to my chest.

“Sir…c-can I go home early t-today?” I squeaked out. “Please? I don’t feel so good.”

Something was definitely very wrong, because instead of answering, a sly smile spread on Mr. Agnes’s face. My heart thrashed against my ribcage as he locked the door and started walking towards me with slow, measured steps.

“There’s no rush, Freya.” His smile turned almost sinister as he stopped on the other side of my desk. “I do have a lot of things to teach you. There’s no rush at all.”

“I-I do-don’t understand w-what you m-mean…” I clutched my bag tighter to my chest, backing away from him slowly, but there wasn’t anywhere for me to go. I was trapped between the desk and my chair and Mr. Agnes was now leaning over, with both hands resting on the desk, making a chill of fear run down my spine.

“You don’t?” Mr. Agnes gave me a mocking smile. “You’re that stupid?”

Before I realized what was happening, Mr. Agnes had reached out to clutch the collar of my hoodie and hurled me forward towards him, so that out faces were mere inches apart. Within one second to the next, his expression turned from sly to menacing.

“Your father made me lose a round last month.” He spat at my face. “Fife thousand dollars is a lot of money. But I’m sure you’ll more than make up for it, won’t you, little slut?”

Five thousand dollars?

My mind was literally blown away. My wasted, gambler father had actually managed to win five thousand dollars! But if he had won…then what had he done with the money? Why hadn’t he paid off some of his debt with it?

But of course, the answer was easy enough. He had gambled away whatever he had won and spent the rest on alcohol. Because to him, that was all that ever mattered nowadays. He didn’t care about anything or anyone else. Not even his five year old son or the numerous debts that he kept on piling.

“Pl-please…” I begged Mr. Agnes, clutching the bag tighter to my chest. “I d-don’t know anything about this.”

“Oh, you don’t need to know anything, little slut,” Mr. Agnes caught my bag and pried it off my hands. “You just need to be worth the five thousand I lost.”

My skin crawled at the sound of his voice, but I was trapped. What was I going to do now? Who could I call for help? Everyone had probably already left the building by now…

Cameron’s face came to my mind for a split-second, but it was a false hope. He would never come to save me, no matter how much I wished for it. He had no reason to return...I was on my own; I always had been and probably always will be.

Gathering all my courage, I yanked my hand away from him and began to turn, so I could run in the opposite direction…but I had underestimated his strength, because the next thing I knew, Mr. Agnes had tugged so hard on my hoodie that I heard it tear down the middle and then I fell backwards onto the floor, hitting the ground hard enough that I saw lights in my vision for a second, before it cleared out.

And then Mr. Agnes knelt on the floor…and began straddling my hips.