Chapter Three.

"You're thrity minutes late,"Was the scalding statement that greeted once my school-exhausted body strolled inside the classroom for my after school detention. 

"My apologies,"I gave her my best fake regal head bow , my voice intoned with heavy sarcasm and indifference. 

"I might decide to keep you here till seven p.m,"Her arms crossed over her chest as she regarded me with displeasure. Seeing her winter skied eyes morph into the darkest of the darkest shades of blue , a glaring evidence of her unspoken wrath , I knew I'd gotten under her skin, just as I had prophesized. 

"If it makes you happy, I will stay until eight or even eleven p.m , I mean, it's not like I have anything better to do at home anyway," A satisfied sigh pushed past my lips once I saw Amanda clench her fists into tight balls.Her anger was my reward. 

A bulging vein cut through her forehead, depicting the volatile anger bubbling under her skin my bothersome personality wrecking havoc inside her inner peace. I tried not to push her buttons any further than that as I briefly located a seat where I'd cozy myself up until detention was over. 

My tired eyes swept across the quietened room, the emptied seats gazing back at subdued expression waiting for me to engage my butt with one of them.The atmosphere was coated with an unwelcomed absurdity , this room that usually bustled with a beehive of activity reduced to walls of complete stillness. 

I believe the term that would perfectly suffice the ambience would be kenospia.A foreign word I learned while thumbing through Charli's poetry journal .That was prior to my execution of drawing an inappripriate diagram inside one of her pages  that nuzzled between her poorly decorated, tattered covers. 

My eyes immediately fell in love with a seat on the very back corner of the classroom,overlooking the blazing orange horizon through the window , a place that promised comfort and tranquility. My feet complied as they carried me over to the seat. However my journey towards said seat was cut abruptly once Amanda called me back. 

"Have this,"What lied inside her hand's grasp was a chisel, its stinless silvery surface glimmering under the fiery sunset that sneaked past the unshielded classroom windows. 

"And what is that for, exactly?"I gave a short derisive laugh, eyebrows raised quizzically. 

"You are going to scrape gum under each one of these desks as punishment," A sadistic  crawled on to her glistening lips. 

I tried to confine my mocking laughter inside my voice box to no avail, it just spilled out like vomit. I hoped she was joking. What the hell kind of punishment was that"I mean, who scrapes gum under desks as punishment? That was certainly unheard of and I should know this since I'm a regular customer when it comes to after school detentions. I honestly thought she ask me to sit in a corner , with my arms crossed and 'think about what I've done' or that sorta thing that grown ups usually regard as suitabel punishment for adolescent kids. But scraping gums?That caught me unawares. 

"When you're done laughing pick up the chisel and get down to business," She commanded amidst my recovery from the prolonged laughter.My sides were starting to ache from its aftermath. "The back seats are notoriously invaded with gum and some other sticky substance that would best be described as mucus." 

I gagged. 

"Are you seriously punishing me by asking me to scrape gum and...mucus?" Another gag triggered by my vagus nerve cells squeezed past my throat. 

" Do you have a problem with that?"Plopping her butt at the edge of her teacher's desk, Amanda watched as I squirmed at her supposed punishment. It was as though she'd formed a bow against me and I was the target of her arrow. 

"You can't be serious , Amanda!"I rationalized but my lamentations fell on deaf eyes. 

"Maybe that'll teach you not to hit on me in front of my class ,"She gave a grim response."And for the last time, It's Mrs.Dawson."

"Oh really?'There was a hint of amusement dancing inside my voice. "You never seem to mind it when I address you as Amanda whenever I visit your house." 

"That's because we're not on school grounds," She spke with conviction."PLus my son is usually around and believe it or not but I somewhat consider you as my son too. "

An amused smirked crawled its way on my lips like a malicious serpent against a crooked tree branch. "So you do prefer me calling you by your first name in the comfort of your home, yes?"

Narrowing her eyes into a sliver, Amanda shifted her weight against the desk she was currently seated on, crossing her legs elegantly as she regarded me with her judicial stare. 

"I don't prefer much when it comes to your degenrate ass but for my son, I am willing to put on a good face for his sake ," Her response, though sounding  harsh and hurtful, I still cherished it. "And if I may, do you call your mother by her first name?" 

I pretended to think about it, head tilted up , eyes morphing into a false thoughful gaze , stroking my thumb against my chin before,"Yeah, I do call her by her first name.It is her name anyway." 

Amanda studied me with deep scrutiny, narrowing her eyes as my words sunk deep into her cosciousness. 

"Well I'm glad I'm not your mother because I would've whooped your ass if you ever addressed me by my first name," 

That resurrected a bout of laughter from me.What's so disrespectful about calling parents by their first names. I used to think my mom's name was Mom and my dad's name was Dad. The day I learned that my parents have actual first names as opposed to their usual titles of Mom and Dad , I was mind blown, like some sort of nuclear explosion went off inside the sutures of my skull. It was like most vital information a kid learns .Suddenly mom's name is Jenniffer and Dad's name is Steven.

And Zac's mom is Amanda.The preternaturally beautiful Amanda. 

"Violence is never the answer,Amanda,"I winked at her.That only seemed to irritate her further.Isn't that what Gandhi said?" 

"I'm surprised you enough know who Gandhi is because if you asked me your mental capacity is similar to that of a gold fish," She sneered. 

"I don't think your son will appreciate your snarky comments about his best friend,Amanda, "Dropping my bag on the ground , I made my way to the back of the room, sleeves rolled to my elbows before dropping down to my knees in readiness for scraping whatever abomination that resided underneath these extremely neglected desks. 

The sight was indeed gruesome, I wish for a mop bucket so that I could empty the contents that were inside my stomach. I couldn't tell which was gum and which was mucus. The first three desks was like a horrible detours through the pits of hell but after holding in my puke , I started to become acquianted with the new task at hand. Amanda sat behind her desk, ocassionally peeking behind the thick book she was reading to confirm if I was slacking or if I was comforming with her cruel punishment and would then dive right back into reading that book of hers. 

Multivariable Calculus With Applications.The title of the book read.What was it with smart girls and excessively reading?

I got up from kneeling, my joints complaining with an audible crack which succeeded in snatching Amanda's attention back to me. 

"Are you okay 'cause you sound like a poorly oiled machine?" 

"Haha, very Funny, Amanda," I put extra emphasis on her name which seemed to piss her off as her jaw ticked at this. 

With a clear plastic bag filled with all different sizes and colors of gums, I set it down on the desk I had just finished scraping before plopping down to the seat next to it , an exhausted sigh pushing past my slightly parted lips. 

"What do you think you are doing?" Pushing back her seat, it screeching in protest against the linoleum floors, Amanda approached me with an air of command around her aura.The kind of aura military officers embrace when recruiting new army members. 

Pretty soon she's standing one feet away from me, her murderous glare making my heart pump intensely against my chest. It was a bit of a turn on for me. Her anger made me feel things I couldn't explain. Indescribable things. I mean , words couldn't describe how sexy she looked when angry, especially when that anger was directed towards me. I just loved it whenever she scolds me , or bossed me around, or punished me. 

"You have about nine more desks to scrape ,"She mentioned the obvious but my body seemed to protest with every aching muscle and joint in my body. , a sore back and my knees were begging to be soaked in a warm soothing sitz bath as a tonic to relieve me of the agonizing pain. 

"I'm just taking a little break, my back is killing me,"I whined, stretching the aforementioned back, grimacing at the tight knot formed around my spine from the bending. 

"Oh is it now?"She smirked, amused at my pained state, arms crossed over full bosom. " Well you should've thought of that before hitting on me during my class.

"I didn't think they'd be consequences,"I breathed out , frustrated." Come on, it was a joke and promise to behave next time." 

She considered, her eyes scrutinizing me. 

"I don't believe you,"

"Oh come on,Amanda!"

"How many times do I have to warn you about calling me by my first name?Would it kill you to show me a bit of respect?"

"It would,"

"I am increasing your punishment,"

"What?" I exclaimed, jerking from my seat so quick it toppled down behind me with a loud crash.

"That's right," She looked elated as though my pain ang agony brought her some special kind of joy. "After you're done with scraping the gums under the desks , I want you to wash my car."

"That doesn't seem very fair,"I argued back.

"I don't seem like much fun, now do I?" 

That's when reality sunk deep inside the contours of my brain. She was trying to get me to hate her or so I thought. Nothing she does will make me hate her. Nothing at all.If she wants me to scrub the dirt from every nook and cranny of her twilight fog Subaru Crosstek , I shall happily oblige. 

Her wish is my command.

"I get it Amanda," I shot her a knowing look, "You're being tough on me because I am your favorite student, isn't it?The same way a coach is usually hard on the best player of the team."

"Is that what you're thinking?"She couldn't hide her perturned expression that crossed her face that boasted with eternal youth and beauty.

"Yes," I nodded."I suppose I am your favorite student .I mean how can explain why you decided to punish only me even though there's tens of students who break rules on a regular basis."

"I'm sorry-"

"Shh..."Without rational thinking, I found my spindly index finger pressing against those plump lips to shush her which earned me raised eyebrows from her , more confused about the peculiarity of this action. I could feel the stickiness of the lipgloss she'd applied, its delicate texture gliding through my calloused finger in a rather enticing manner. I prophesized the scent and taste of strawberry that  would cling on to said finger before I could get the courage to wash it off. 

"Urgh!'The way she ripped my hand away from her lip made me yelp in surprise at th harsh yanking. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?"

"We were bonding!"I joked lightly even though she wasn't in a laughy mood. 

"You know what, just go home," That took me by surprise, blinking in confusion. 

"And what about the rest of the desks?"

"Just go before I lose my temper!"Her thunderous voice brought the cowardice side of me as I flicnhed ,stumbling back a few steps, creating a huge distance between us. 

Amanda was mad at me for going to far.I don't know why but it brought me some kind of thrill and excitement in me as the conflicting feelings collided inside my head.

"Sure thing,"Nonetheless, I decided to give her some space for this tension between us to simmer down. Her anger towards me to dissipate so that I can disturb her again tomorrow.And the day after tomorrow and so on and so forth.

Retiring back to her desk, Amanda immediately buried her nose back into the pages of that thick book. My body refused to move as I gazed at her. 

Damn, there's something alluring about bespectacled women that keeps me panting. There's beauty behind that particular imperfection, poor eyesight to be more specific. Big dorky black framed, thick lensed glasses...

I wish all girl had bad eyesight so that they can all be bespectacled.I know it sounds selfish but come on, Aren't all bespectacled women attractive?Smart, aloof, quiet, independent, authoratative-

"Didn't I just tell you to leave my presence?"I snapped back from my miserable thought provoking reverie, trying to collect mt scattered disoriented mind. Without giving it a second thought, I reached for my worn out bag, threwing it over my shoulder before scampering away  in hopes that Amanda didn't catch a glimpse of my tented crotch.