The Nosferatu Adventures
page 299, chapter 299
Love Me Like a Candle in the Rain
Edric stood at the whiteboard copying out the notes he'd spent the night making. It was the first day back from winter holidays, and he knew his students would be less than cooperative. Specially so when they found out the first assignment back was a ten page essay on Hamlet.
"Professor Quoyle." the soft voice slithered into the room. Looking over his shoulder, Edric did a double take, biting the inside of his lip. His knees went weak as butterflies attacked his stomach.
"Nosferatu, what can I do for you?" he put the marker down on the little ledge turning to face her, as she gestured towards the small office across the hall. Clearing his throat, the sandy-blonde male followed, looking at the classroom clock noting to himself he had about fifteen minutes before his class arrived. Closing the door to his office, he pushed the little glasses up on his nose, before leaning against the wall, his arms crossed.
"We're short a chaperone for the dance tonight, and since you've yet to volunteer..." she wrung her hands leaning forward a half step.
"That's tonight? I thought it was back before the holidays?" he had remembered a few of his students talking about the dance before the winter holidays, but just assumed it had been the night before they'd left for them. "Can't I just take the detention class for like a week instead?"
"It's mandatory for all staff to cover at lest one of the school dances per year. We've had three already and you still haven't signed up for any of the other three up coming ones." our heroine replied scratching at her temple. Edric caught her smile as her gaze trailed over him, landing at what he suspected were his thighs. Tilting his head down, he licked his lips as the butterflies were active again. Normally, it was his arms that got the sweeping glances and nearly always a comment about how he worked out. He'd never admit it, but Edric secretly liked the fact when he caught Nosferatu checking him out, it was clear she appreciated all of him.
"So no on the detention?" he cleared his throat again. "School dances sucked when I was a teenager because of the teachers chaperoning them. And now you want to make me a massive hypocrite by making me into the chastity police." he uncrossed his one arm palm up. "What did I ever do to you?"
"It starts at 7:30. Do you want coat check or parking lot?" she asked walking past him out of his office, touching his arm as she did.
"Neither. Neither would be swell." he sighed. "I'll take coat check only because it's already -27C out there and it's suppose to snow tonight." Edric grumbled as he waited for our heroine to leave. Checking the clock, he still had a few minutes before he needed to get back to his class. Grabbing the phone, he dialed. "Seward, yeah I'm going to have to duck out of the poker game tonight. I got roped in last minute on chaperoning duty. What do you want me to say man, I got caught unaware. How was I to know they actually pay attention to who's volunteered to stuff?" his voice started to raise as he let his one hand slap his thigh in frustration. Hanging up the phone, he pushed the little glasses up on his nose once again, before turning heading back to his class room.
Edric arrived back at the school at 7:24pm, the sea of students already causing him to tense up his shoulders. At lest the building was warm. Unzipping his winter jacket, he draped it over a chair as he sat down in the empty class room that was being used for the coat check area. The desks had all been moved around the room pushed up against the walls, in order to allow space for the racks of hangers. All he had to do was sit back and make sure none of the students managed to sneak in the room once the dance started, to drink or make out. Not one of the easiest jobs but at lest he wasn't standing around in ankle deep snow. The first rush of kids came like a tidal wave just as the clock hit 7:30, with everything running smooth until just after 8pm. That's when something caught his attention from the corner of his eye. Getting up, the sandy-blonde male did a sweep of the room, careful not to knock over the delicately arranged rows of clothing racks.
"You find anything?" the female's voice caused him to jump.
"Bloody hell." Edric turned facing our heroine. A quick tint of colour heated his skin as he stared at her. Edric moved a half step away from the coats, rolling his sleeves up leaning on the edge of the desk. "I thought you were on parking lot duty?"
"No, one of the other teachers got that job. I'm just doing rounds. Checking the locker area, girl's bathroom that sort of thing. You okay, you look like you've seen a ghost?" our heroine asked reaching her arm out towards the rows of coats. Edric looked again towards the corner of the room.
"I thought I saw someone but..." he stood back to his full height his blue eyes straining.
"Only another hour to go." our heroine said touching his arm before turning to leave again. As soon as she was out of the room, he grabbed his phone calling Seward.
"Hey, you remember the librarian Nosferatu?" he took another sweep of the room just to ease his mind. Again not finding anyone hiding in the shadows, Edric returned to his desk.
"The redhead corporate-gothabilly, that you've been too chicken to talk to for the last two years. No, can't say I do." the younger male laughed on the other end. "Why, what's going on? Did she offer to save you the last dance?"
"I don't know, I'm tired. I could be reading the whole thing wrong? I mean, I thought I saw something moving around, then she came in and..."
"Dude! From the beginning." Seward said something else but had covered the phone. Edric heard him walking around on the other end, the clanking of ice and pouring of something.
"I'm alone in the coat check and thought I saw someone in the far end of the room. I got up to look, but nobody was there, then she came in the room like sneaked up on me, reminded me there's only an hour to go and touched my arm, which she does a lot. Yet she's never... I'm overthinking it aren't I?" he scratched his wrist before rubbing his eyes.
"You got a library card for an excuse to hang around her. Dude, you're way past overthinking it." Seward said.
"Shack you." Edric's voice held none of the sarcasm it was meant to.
"What was she wearing?" Landin asked as he stuffed something into his mouth, causing his sentence to be mumbled. Edric peeked out of the class room, just as a group of teenaged girls headed past him for the bathroom.
"You put me on speaker phone?"
"Yeah. Saves time on us having to have Seward repeat everything." This time it was Ruthven. Edric could hear him lighting his cigar. "The fashion victim wants to know what was she wearing?"
"Why?" Edric blushed silently "Um... dark jeans. What's that got to do with anything?" he closed his eyes silently telling himself he'd never hear the end of it. He really should have known better than to bring anything up with them. Letting out a groan of embarrassment, he swore.
"What was she wearing?" Seward repeated a slight jingle to his voice.
"Uh.." he peeked out the door again suddenly feeling like one of his students as he caught sight of her at the end of the hall. "The top has black and white polka-dots and short puffy sleeves. Very very low cut."
"Heels?" Seward opened a door and closed it.
"No. Winter boots cause you know, the snow." Edric pushed his glasses up on his nose again. A few of the empty hangers fell to the floor, causing him to turn around and investigate.
"That ghost back?" our heroine said from the doorway of the classroom. Edric swore dropping the phone. Bending to pick it up, our heroine was about to hand it back to him, when she heard Ruthven's voice.
"...she's definitely into you. So just slide up to her when she's alone, like in the back of the library shelving books and see what happens." Edric grabbed the little machine turning it off, the colour spreading across his ears.
"Were you and your buddies just talking about me?" she asked pointing at the little phone.
"Uh...uh." he nervously ran his hand through his hair pushing the glasses up again. "Define talking about?" he licked his lips. "See it's a funny story actually we were..." he waved the little machine pointing at it with his other hand. "...we were just trying to..." Edric's shoulders slumped as he began grinding his teeth together in embarrassment. "Did you need something?"
"Always." she smiled turning to leave again, this time heading in the opposite direction towards the gym. The lights flickering in the main hall as she did. Edric tilted his head to the side watching the lighting grid. Only the two lights by the gym had flickered. A couple of the students appeared suddenly from the far door of the gym, heading down the hall towards the nurse's station. Sighing to himself, Edric realized he'd have to leave his post and deal with them.
Tune in again for another installment of the Nosferatu Adventures starring your heroine...me(straight up story. ooohhh spooky.)
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