Alpha Girl (8 page)

‘Hey,’ I said, slinging my bag over my shoulder and weaving through the desks until I reached him.

Mr. Stone looked over his shoulder as he put the duster down, his mouth curling into a smile as he realized who had spoken.

‘Hello, Rose,’ he said, wiping his hands on his worn-out jeans, leaving dusty handprints on the thighs.  ‘What can I do for you?’

‘I wanted to talk to you,’ I said, perching myself on the edge of his desk and crossing my legs. Mr. Stone’s eyes traveled along my calves before snapping to my face, his expression guilty.

‘About the lesson?’ he asked, a little too quickly.

‘No,’ I smiled, opening my backpack and digging around. I pulled out the thrift-store plastic bag containing the shoes and handed it to Mr. Stone.

‘What’s this?’ he asked, holding the bag.

‘Open it,’ I prompted.

Mr. Stone untied the handles of the bag and peered inside.

‘Shoes?’ he asked, looking up at me.

‘For you,’ I nodded.

He pulled them out of the bag and inspected them. ‘You got these for me?’

I smiled. ‘You always wear the same shoes, and I saw these and thought they would suit you.’

‘They’re really nice,’ he said, touching the leather. ‘Probably a bad thing.’

‘Why?’ I asked.

‘I can’t have nice things,’ he smirked. ‘They don’t last long.’

I rolled my eyes. ‘Just try them on, will you?’

Mr. Stone looked troubled. ‘Rose … I can’t accept gifts from students.’

‘But I’m not just any student, right?’ I gave him a smile, which Mr. Stone returned.

‘No,’ he said slowly.

‘It can be our little secret,’ I said. ‘I promise I won’t tell anyone.’

Mr. Stone grinned and sat down in his chair, before pulling off his shoes and slipping on the brown leather loafers.

‘Do they fit?’ I asked at once.

‘Yes, they do,’ he said, standing up and taking a few steps in them.

‘Do you like them?’ I pressed.

He looked down at his feet. ‘I do.’

My chest swelled with pride. ‘I thought they were very you.’

‘Do I look like a mad professor now?’ he asked, smirking.

‘You did, anyway,’ I laughed.

‘I hope you didn’t spend much on them, Rose. They look a little expensive.’

‘I spent a fortune,’ I lied. ‘A whole five dollars at the thrift-store.’

Mr. Stone threw his head back and laughed. ‘You can find some amazing things at the thrift shop.’

‘You’re telling me. I bought an entire wardrobe for twenty dollars.’

He smiled warmly. ‘Thank you very much, Rose.’

‘You’re welcome.’

‘Now, get out of here and go to lunch.’

I grinned. ‘See you at the café on Monday?’ I asked.

I smiled guiltily. ‘It’s a date.’

Monday – 16 days to go

The shop was busy and we had extra staff working that evening. Estelle said something about an event in town, so it seemed we were getting a little extra business. I was happy when the café was filled with customers; it meant the shift passed quickly.

At six o’clock Sadie Deveraux entered the café, grinning widely at me.

‘Hey Rose,’ she said, bouncing towards the counter.

‘Hey,’ I replied. I didn’t have much time to chat as I was currently working on several coffees at once.

‘It’s busy in here for a change,’ she noted, looking around.

‘Yeah.’ I wiped my brow with the back of my hand. ‘Did you want a coffee?’

‘A hot chocolate, please. I don’t drink coffee.’

I added Sadie’s order to the list and gave it to her on the house. Estelle wouldn’t mind; it was only a few cents worth of ingredients.

‘What brings you here anyway?’ I asked her.

‘There was a show on in town,’ said Sadie. ‘Aaron Ford asked me to go with him.’

‘Aaron asked you?’ I raised an eyebrow. ‘I didn’t know you two were so close.’

Sadie rolled her eyes. ‘We’re not, but I took pity on him.’

Sadie was an average looking blonde girl who was quite popular with the boys at school. However, I believed this was only because she’d developed rather large breasts at an early age. At only eighteen years old, she already wore a D cup bra. She didn’t tried to hide it either, often wearing low cut tops.

I, on the other hand, was average. Not big, not small. I didn’t mind.

Clang
. Another customer entered the shop. I looked up, hoping to see Mr. Stone, but of course it wasn’t him. I’d been getting my hopes up all evening. My disappointment must have shown.

‘Are you waiting for someone?’ Sadie asked, looking over her shoulder at the door.

‘No.’ I shook my head quickly.

‘Well, I’d better get going,’ she said, checking her phone.

Clang
. I looked up and my heart jumped into my throat.
Mr. Stone
. I was about to say ‘hello’ to him, but Sadie beat me to it.

‘Mr. Stone!’ she waved frantically. ‘Hey!’

Mr. Stone’s eyes fell on me first, but then slid to Sadie. ‘Ah, hello Sadie. How are you?’

‘Great!’ she beamed, clutching her hot chocolate with both hands.

Sadie watched as Mr. Stone ordered his coffee with Estelle. ‘Can I please have a medium gluten free skim latte please?’

‘Hey, that’s really weird,’ she said, standing next to him. ‘That’s the exact same thing that Rose gets.’

‘Is it?’ Mr. Stone pulled a crisp bill out of his wallet and passed it to Estelle. He knew perfectly well that it was.

Sadie nodded. ‘Yeah. How weird. I don’t drink coffee though.’

‘I thought you were leaving?’ I asked Sadie as I began to make Mr. Stone’s coffee. I hoped she would leave.

She shot me a furious look. ‘No, I was just about to have a seat,’ she said. ‘Would you like to join me, Mr. Stone?’

He glanced at me before looking at Sadie. ‘Um … I was just about to be on my way, actually.’

‘Oh, don’t be silly!’ Sadie rested her hand on Mr. Stone’s arm. ‘Sit with me!’

I slid Mr. Stone’s coffee along the counter to him, my jaw set tight. My eyes darted between the two of them, waiting for his response. He gave me one last glance before nodding at Sadie.

‘Sure.’

My skin prickled with jealousy as I watched Sadie and Mr. Stone share a booth, sipping their drinks. Sadie laughed and toyed with her hair as she chatted away happily. He listened, smiling politely, but I caught him glancing towards me a couple of times. 

They talked for over half an hour, long after their beverages had been consumed. I was too busy to eavesdrop on what they talked about.

Eventually, the shop became quiet, until it was only Estelle, Sadie, Mr. Stone and a few other lingering people in the café.

‘Well, I’d better get going,’ I overheard him say to Sadie. ‘Lots of essays to grade, after all.’

She looked visibly crestfallen. ‘Oh, all right. Um. Can I get a lift home, Mr. Stone?’

He paused, halfway through buttoning up his blazer. ‘What?’

‘It’s getting dark,’ said Sadie, pointing outside. ‘And I’d have to walk home.’

‘I’m not sure that-’ he began, but Sadie interrupted.

‘Please? It’s dangerous at night.’ Sadie used the same excuse that Mr. Stone had to take me home.

His jaw tensed, and I saw a vein throb in his temple. ‘All right, sure.’

I watched as they left together, and Mr. Stone glanced back at me before leading Sadie to his car that was parked on the street. He didn’t open the passenger door for her like he had for me. At least that was something.  I burned with jealousy as I watched him drive her away. It made me dizzy to see it.

‘Rose?’ Estelle waved a hand in front of me. ‘Rose, I need a caramel latte.’

‘Oh, right. Yeah, sorry.’ I shook my head and focused on work once more.

I couldn’t help but feel that Sadie had stolen my time with Mr. Stone.
My time
. The thought rang in my head like bells. Had I really become so possessive over a man I barely knew? Not to mention he was a teacher! What had got into me?

Friday – 12 days to go