Crimson and Furs

Crushing

After several minutes students began trooping into the class, filling the twenty seats. Those who came on their own silently made their ways to their chairs while those who came in groups chatted noisily as they giggled to take their seats. Everyone avoided Walter and his gang who were already seated at the far back of the class, their eyes fixed on Daniel as they awaited the coming of Felicia. They wanted to see if this idiot would dare foolishly act lovey-dovey with that girl.

Daniel sat on his chair which was near the left wall of the class, the position of his chair standing between the front and back rows—he was among the people who sat on chairs arranged in the middle row. A novel was on his desk in front of him, his eyes looking in between the words written with a feigned interest. The book he was reading was a werewolf novel and it was titled: Werewolves. Although he loved reading novels like this, he was very much distracted and couldn't even read. He had to put up this act to make Walter and his gang keep their eyes off him for a second (it was pretty annoying as well as alarming!). He knew they were always staring at him and it was beginning to cringe him out! Also he was buying himself time so that he wouldn't get bored before Felicia came.

Wait, I'm still thinking about that girl! Daniel mused silently as his eyes subconsciously moved to the entrance. Wasn't he supposed to back down from Walter's ex the moment he was threatened? Was he looking for a death wish?

It's not like I'm strong enough to fight, Daniel said. Even a rat throws better punches than me!

He was still thinking whether to push forward his relationship with Felicia or to back down and allow Walter to reunite with his love when he heard the soft revving of engines. They were as soft as silk, soothing to the ears like music. Felicia had come.

She was the daughter of a wealthy person in Crimson Springs. It was even rumoured that her father was a high ranking noble of the Earl rank but he didn't have a way of knowing since he hadn't gotten close enough to Felicia. Due to her father being very rich, she always arrived with an entourage of bouncers to intimidate bullies like Walter. These bouncers always waited for her till school let out, keeping a close eye on her as if her life was always in danger. No one dared mess up with her, not even Walter or he would have forced her to be his girlfriend after the breakup.

Felicia's figure soon came into Daniel's vision. She was dressed in a black crop top which exposed her flat tummy with beautiful navel that almost sank into her tummy. Her legs were graced by a pair of black tight pants which squeezed out her alluring feminine shape, making the boys in the class want to gawk at her from behind. Her feet were adorned in a pair of black sneakers which matched her dressing. Every step she took was graceful, her black short hair dancing elegantly with life.

Daniel continued looking at his crush but he made sure that she didn't notice his stare. He even had bad thoughts about Felicia's long legs and felt that she would be definitely good in bed.

Stop it! Stop! he quickly controlled his thoughts as he closed his eyes to block whatever nefarious thought would surface.

Felicia's blue eyes moved to where Daniel was sitting and her pink full lips curled into a warm smile which made all the boys enter into a trance. They wished they were the ones she is was smiling at. Even Walter and his gang weren't left out. But then they had the plans of dealing with Daniel after this escapade. How dare he?!

Felicia walked towards Daniel with her tall and graceful figure, going to sit down at her desk which was beside Daniel's desk. She placed her black backpack on the desk and greeted, "Hi, Dan."

Hearing the soft voice, Daniel's heart couldn't help but kept. He opened his eyes only to see Felicia's eyes staring into his, a warm and alluring smile on her face. Two dimples sank into both sides of her face, making her look innocent and charming. Daniel couldn't help but feel something becoming stiff between his legs.

"..."

Daniel wanted to smile back but his expression became blank. I fucked up again? How can I become erect at this critical point?

"Calm down, calm down," Daniel muttered in a habitual manner as his cheeks turned purple out of embarrassment.

Felicia watched him with a slightly surprised look befitting of a noble lady as she asked, "Are you unable to stand a beautiful person like me?"

"Uh, not really," Daniel recovered himself and prevented further embarrassment as he chuckled lightly. "Actually my mind drifted to some stuffs."

"You mean, other cute girls," Felicia rolled her eyes.

"No, no," Daniel almost waved his hands. "There are no other cute girls."

"So I'm the only cute girl you know?" Felicia stared into his eyes, her smile vanishing to reveal a serious expression.

"..."

Daniel almost froze instantly as he muttered to himself, "Lady Licia, you mustn't be this serious with trivial matters."

He then stammered, "Uh, actually...it's...it's a..."

Felicia faked a frown as she said, "That says it! You find other girls cute. I'm only secondary that's why you can't even answer the question."

It's not like that, Daniel wanted to say but at that time the Biology teacher had walked into the class. It was Mr. Rowling, the ever unsmiling teacher. Today he was dressed in a white vest and a pair of black trousers with glistening black shoes. His silvery hair was combed neatly, his black eyes darting here and there very quickly. Although he was only 30 of age, he looked 40 with a receding hairline.

What's up with the black colour today, Daniel thought inwardly as he stole a glance at Walter and his four mean looking friends. They all returned alarming glares. He immediately cringed inwardly as he stole another glance at Felicia to placate his mind. She was actually searching for her biology notebook in her backpack and wasn't even looking at him. At this point Daniel doubted if she had a crush on him. Shouldn't crushes be always staring at each other in alluring ways, smiling awkwardly? Lady Licia, that's a boring attitude of yours.

"Good morning class," Mr. Rowling said after some moments of silence. His black eyes sized up everyone as his frown deepened. It was as if he had a conflict with everyone in the class.

"Good morning Sir," the students echoed as they readied themselves to learn.

Daniel observed Mr. Rowling as he scoffed inwardly, What's such a long face for? And to think you're so old-fashioned makes it seem annoying. At that time he noticed a speck of dust on Mr. Rowling's vest.

"..."

As someone who suffered from tidiness OCD, the first thing that came to his mind was to stand up, walk up to Mr. Rowling and remove the speck of dust. But then he didn't as he controlled himself to ignore the dust. It's only a speck of dust, why be so serious? Plus the dust wasn't on his own cloth. Just to be sure, he looked down on his cloth to check if there was any dust. Thankfully, there was none.

Mr. Rowling cleared his throat in a habitual manner as he said, "So today we're gonna look at the cell."

The whole class fell silent as everyone knew what was coming next. Mr. Rowling would take the initiative to ask what a cell for. Apart from Daniel no one could afford to read ahead of the teacher so they didn't know what a cell was. Even though they had been taught earlier at middle school, they had long discarded that topic and forgotten. Who would go about remembering what a cell was when it didn't relate to their daily lives?

"So now my question is, what is a cell?" Mr. Rowling asked as he scanned the expressions of all the students with his eyes. Daniel raised up his right hand but he ignored him and pointed Walter who was seated at the back of the seat.

"..."

Walter wore a flustered expression as the pointing was very sudden. He wasn't even ready for it to begin with. Slowly he stood up, lowering his head. He didn't even know what a cell was.

If Daniel answers that question, he's so much dead. Walter turned to look at Daniel but he could only see the back of his brown head. He retracted his gaze back to the teacher.

"I'm asking you a question and you're supposed to answer," Mr. Rowling glared at Walter. If students joked with other teachers, he was the last person to be joked with. Was he here to run a nanny care or teach the stupid teenagers down here, bringing them to the path of knowledge?

"I don't know what a cell is," Walter hung his head in shame, not daring to look at the whole class. He could even sense the whole class turning to stare at him.

Felicia, he muttered inwardly as he felt he had looked so stupid in front of her. There would be no chance in the nearest future to get back with his ex. So sad.

Daniel was still raising his right hand up, eager to get back at Walter for bullying him earlier that day and almost killing him the previous day. For someone who couldn't fight, the only way to get back at somebody was to use his sixth sense.

"Okay you, Mr. Stark," Mr. Rowling was visibly disappointed in the rest of the class. There were other intelligent students in the class so why was Daniel the only person answering questions in the class? Inasmuch as he felt disappointed with everyone, he was very proud of Daniel. The kid was sure something.

"A cell is the structural and functional unit of a living organism," Daniel stood up and answered, stealing a glance at Walter from the corner of his eyes. He could see that the latter was fuming greatly. He also stole a glance at Felicia and realized she had a small smile plastered on her face.

"You all must learn to be like Mr. Stark," Mr. Rowling said. "And that includes you there."

Walter realized Mr. Rowling was referring to him and even became more embarrassed. He vowed to teach Daniel a lesson after school. The puny punch bag was so much in a sorry state after school.

Immediately lesson began, Mr. Rowling explaining important things about the cell without leaving the slightest information out. After 45 minutes, his period came to an end and he left the class after saying, "Read ahead of me."

Walter and his four friends took the initiative to walk up to Daniel before the next period began and surrounded his desk.

Daniel swallowed hard as Walter banged his desk with his right powerful fist, his green eyes staring straight into Daniel's.

Felicia couldn't help but frown seeing the commotion. How dare this bully surround Daniel? Aren't they afraid of messing with someone I have a crush on?

"How dare you make me look like a fool again?" Walter asked as he clamped his right hand around Daniel's neck.

Daniel calmly slapped his hand away, swallowing hard after the action. He then said, "I was asked a question."

Walter was about to say something when Felicia shoved him away and said, "Back off, Walter."

Walter became extremely shocked as his eyes darted from Daniel to Felicia and then back to Daniel. He then said in a low tone, "You're so much dead."

He then left for his seat with his bullies. At that time Felicia turned to Daniel and smiled, "Don't mind them."

Are your bouncers gonna protect me? Daniel wanted to ask but he didn't. Instead he nodded as he smiled back, "Sure."

He then began devising a plan on how to escape once school let out. He didn't want to be crushed by Walter and his gang for crushing on his ex. He didn't want to end up the way he ended up yesterday. If that happened today, he would be as good as dead. He had to find a way to escape from those bullies today.