Jack Kursed (22 page)

She lowered her eyes. "It's just
hard."

"You don't think the times table stuff
is fun?"

She shook her head, afraid
to look Miss Hernandez in the eye. She didn't want to disappoint
her teacher, like she always disappointed Miss Simmons. Tiffany
knew Jack liked Miss Hernandez, and wanted them both to think she
was smart, even if she wasn't.

She struggled through her
math assignment, and looked up occasionally to see Miss Hernandez
staring at her from behind her desk. The pretty teacher seemed
embarrassed and looked away.

After lunch the class took turns
reading out of a book when there was a knock at the classroom door.
Miss Hernandez answered it and spoke to someone standing outside
for a minute or so.

"Okay, everyone," she
announced. "Today we have a special treat. You get a break from the
reading I know you just love so much. I want you to meet Officer
Mark Taylor. He walks the streets at night while we're sleeping to
keep all of us safe, and he's taking time to talk to us
today."

Tiffany's jaw dropped as
Officer Taylor stepped into class. Her mind flashed back to that
night in the alley, the night she met Jack. She remembered the
monster attacking that man, biting and sucking at his neck. She
still dreamed about the monster sometimes.

The monster was terrible,
but she also remembered the man in the alley. He was dressed like a
policeman, just like Officer Taylor. Blue hat, blue uniform, gun on
his belt. The policeman did nothing while the monster killed that
man and drank his blood.

She let out a cry as she jumped from
her desk. Miss Hernandez and the students around her stared at her
in surprise. She quickly made her way in between the desks, bumping
her shin on someone's foot, and reached for the door.

She ran down the empty
hall as fast as her legs would carry her, screaming as she
went.

*****

Jack stepped through the
school's main doors. He wasn't sure what the policy was. He didn't
know if he was supposed to sign in at the main office, get a badge
of some sort, give a blood or urine sample. He didn't care. He was
past the office and nearly to the library when he heard a familiar
voice behind him.

"Jack! Wait!"

He turned to see Erica
walking out of the main office, concern on her face. Behind her was
a police officer followed by the principal. The officer carried
Tiffany's backpack, and Jack's heart caught in his chest, a strange
feeling for him.

"Thank you for coming," the principal
said.

"Of course I came. What's going on?
Where's Tiffany?"

"She's in a supply closet just outside
Miss Hernandez's classroom."

His jaw tightened. "Please
tell me you didn't stick her in a closet."

"You know we didn't,
Jack," Erica said, flashing him a glare. "She went in there
herself. She just...snapped. She ran out of class. She screams and
goes crazy when we try to get her out. We figured it'd be best to
get you down here."

Jack settled his gaze on the
policeman. "Who are you?"

The man smiled and held
out a hand. "Officer Mark Taylor. I just stopped in to talk to the
kids, and she freaked. I hate to ask, but is there anything going
on at home I should know about? I looked through her pack here, and
saw her camera. If I was to look through it, would it make me
unhappy?"

"You...looked through her
things?"

"I have the right. I thought she might
be on drugs."

“
An eight-year-old on
drugs? Are you serious?”

Something about Officer
Mark Taylor didn't sit well with Jack. He'd been around a lot of
terrible people in his life. Jack was a terrible person himself. He
could sniff one out easily. It wasn't always about body language.
But a cheating spouse, a petty thief, a corrupt cop, they were easy
to spot.

It took most of his willpower to
ignore the man and look at Erica.

"Take me to this closet,
please."

Before budging, Jack held
his hand out to Taylor, waiting impatiently for him to hand over
Tiffany's pack. With a smile that made Jack want to rip his throat
out, Taylor handed it over.

Erica led him past her
class, where a substitute teacher had taken over, to a closet at
the end of the hall. The halls were empty, but it wouldn't be long
before they were full of students clawing for the exits. The school
day was almost over.

Tiffany must have seen shadows moving
under the door, as she shouted out when Jack drew near.

"Go away! Leave me alone!"

He turned to Erica. "She just ran out
of class?"

She opened her mouth, but Taylor, who
was standing behind her, cut her off.

"Yeah. It was crazy. The little freak
just bolted away. I thought the room was on fire."

"I wasn't talking to you,"
Jack snapped. "And please, do not call Tiffany a name
again."

Taylor laughed and threw his hands in
the air. "Whatever. I guess my work here is done. But I've got my
eye on you."

Jack glared at the corrupt
cop as he turned and walked down the hall. Even after he rounded
the corner and disappeared, Jack was still tense.

"Calm down," Erica said,
putting a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry. I really don't know
what happened. I can see Officer Taylor is a bit of an asshole. But
he was just stopping by to say drugs are bad, don't talk to
strangers, all that generic crap."

Despite the situation, Jack smiled.
Erica was finally sounding like a real person, and not a woman
hiding behind her teacher's mask.

"Tiffany just took off,"
she continued. "Did she have a bad experience with a cop or
something?"

"Let's find out."

Jack knocked on the door.

"I said leave me alone!"

"It's me. It's just me and Miss
Hernandez out here."

The door shot open.
Tiffany grabbed Jack's arm and pulled him inside. She hesitated as
she looked at Erica, but grabbed her wrist as well. She slammed the
door shut after everyone was firmly inside.

Jack frowned as he shifted
in the darkness. The supply closet was mostly empty, plenty of
space, but he still wasn't fond of an enclosed room. He shoved a
mop and bucket out of the way as he grabbed his iPhone. The soft
light pushed away the darkness. Erica gave him a nervous smile as
she stood across from him.

"I wonder how many rules I'm breaking
right now," she said.

The thought of spending
time in a closet with Erica was an alluring one, but Jack was more
concerned about Tiffany.

The girl sat at his feet,
hugging her knees to her chest. Her eyes were red from crying.
She'd taken her shoes off and set them in the corner. Grabbing her
pack, she pulled it from Jack's grip and hugged it close to
her.

Jack sat next to her, placing the
iPhone in his lap. Erica slid down the wall across from him. There
was just enough room for the three of them to sit comfortably,
although Jack and Erica's feet were touching.

"So," Jack said, flashing
a smile. "How was your day?"

"Tiffany, what happened?" Erica asked.
"Do you know Officer Taylor?"

"You wouldn't believe me."

"You might be right," Jack said. "We
might not believe you. But you can still talk to us, and we'll
listen."

Erica wrinkled her brow at
Jack, telling him he chose the wrong words.

"The monster."

Jack rolled his eyes. "Tiffany, we've
talked about this. I seriously doubt you saw a monster."

Erica gave Jack a
questioning look, and he quickly filled her in on the first night
they met. She took everything well, her eyes widening only a few
times.

"I know you don't believe me," Tiffany
said. "I saw a monster, and someone dressed liked a policeman. But
you'll protect me, right?"

"As long as I'm around,
which believe me, is looking to be a long time, I've got your back.
You've got mine, right?"

Tiffany giggled and stood up to give
him a hug.

"Shit, Tiffany, enough with the
hugs."

His eyes met Erica's as
Tiffany's tear-stained cheeks touched his own. He was an expert in
body language, facial expression, and lip reading, but Erica had a
face he couldn't read at the moment. It wasn't lust. He'd seen that
enough times to recognize. Was it longing, or caring? That didn't
make sense either. No one had ever cared about him before, other
than Victoria.

Jack opened the door,
looking both ways. The halls were still empty. He left first,
followed by Erica and then Tiffany. The bell rang, and two seconds
later every door in the hall opened at once.

Tiffany had taken the lead
and carried her own bag once again. She tried to pass an open door,
but a boy nearly ran out of the classroom. He bumped into her,
knocking her back a foot. It was Robert, the bully.

"Hey, new girl. Why don't you watch
where you're going?"

He shoved Tiffany by the
bad shoulder. She winced as she fell back into Jack, who caught her
before she tumbled. Robert hadn't seen Jack or Erica standing
behind her, and opened his mouth in surprise as he looked at the
two adults.

Before Erica could say a
word, or Jack's rage could go off, Tiffany stepped forward. She
threw a right fist directly at Robert, catching him in the nose.
The bully stumbled back a few steps before falling on his ass. The
students at their lockers and leaving class erupted in laughter and
cheers.

"And down goes Frazier!"
Jack shouted, laughing hysterically as Robert picked himself up and
ran away. Jack raised Tiffany's hand in mock-victory. "Who wants
some now? Who's next?"

Jack felt something odd as
students walked by, congratulating and high-fiving Tiffany. The
girl turned red from embarrassment, but smiled at the attention she
received. He couldn't get the grin off his face, and realized he
was feeling proud.

He turned and caught Erica's eye. She
smiled for a split-second, and then her face grew serious. It was
as if she finally remembered she was a teacher in a school, and
just witnessed a fight.

She led Jack and Tiffany down the
hall.

"Uh oh," he said. "I think
we're in trouble."

*****

Erica paced back and forth
as Jack sat behind her desk. Tiffany sat in the back of class,
working on her homework. The door was shut, and he expected her to
unleash fury any second. He tried to hold in laughter as she paced,
stopped to open her mouth, and resumed pacing without saying a
word. As she moved far in the other direction, when her back was to
him, he gave Tiffany a thumbs-up. The girl giggled, and Erica
caught Jack, giving him an evil look.

"Uh, Erica?" he said. "You want to get
on with this? I've got things to do. Laundry, dinner-"

"Does it not bother you that Tiffany
just punched a fellow student?"

Her tone brought him to his
feet.

"Fellow student? That kid
is a bully, a piece of shit. Tell me he didn't get what he
deserved."

"We here at the school-"

"Oh, stop. Stop
talking like a businesswoman. I saw the smile on your face. Be
honest. Don't hide behind that
I-am-a-prim-and-proper-teacher
bullshit."

She stopped and
playfulness twinkled in her eye. She glanced at Tiffany and lowered
her voice.

"Robert is a turd. I taught him last
year. I can't stand that little brat. He's outgrowing everyone, so
he thinks he can just push kids around."

"There you go. Honesty. Was that so
hard?"

She laughed, but only for a
second.

"Still, Jack, fighting isn't allowed
for any reason."

"It wasn't exactly a fight. He ran his
mouth, Tiffany threw lightning in his face, he fell
down."

Erica laughed again, and
he saw her conflicting emotions. She was having fun, enjoying the
conversation, and felt guilty at the same time.

"I still have to tell the principal.
I'm sorry."

"Come on, Erica. Sometimes violence is
the only answer."

She stared at him, all
humor gone from her face. Her hand went up to her scar without her
even realizing.

"I'm sorry, did you just say violence
is okay?"

He sighed. "Give me a
break. I'm not trying to compare what happened to you to fighting
in a school. But when you were hit with that bottle, didn't you
defend yourself? Did you fight back?"

Danger flashed through her
eyes.

"Your little flirty comments every
morning doesn't mean we know each other. You don't get to ask me
personal questions."

Jack looked over Erica's
shoulder at Tiffany. The girl was trying to listen in, without
seeming obvious. When she caught Jack's eye she looked back to her
homework. He took a step towards Erica, closer than he meant to be,
but she didn't back away.