Temptation

“So, is the answer right? Did I do everything right?”

“Well, the answer is correct, but you forgot to justify it. If this was a test, I’d have to give you zero points in that question.”

This is 12º grade, God damnit! These lazy kids just don’t write down everything because it takes too much willpower. Either that or he didn’t do homework and copied the answers from someone else. Yeah, that’s probably it. I also can’t imagine Eric doing his homework, let alone doing it correctly. So I guess I’ll show him what happens when people try to bullshit me.

“But since you got the answer correctly, you may solve the problem in the blackboard and show us how you got it.”

“Um...”

I give him a piece of chalk and smile. He takes the piece of chalk and reluctantly walks towards the blackboard. I bet John is mentally kicking himself for trying to bullshit me. That kid is so naive and predictable I can almost read his mind. I really doubt he’ll ever-

I notice Steve nervously waving at me. I turn my head and frown; it’s rare to see him paying attention to anything but his Iphone.

“Yes, Steve?”

“Mrs. Winchester, your cellphone is vibrating.”

Cellphone? But I always remember to turn it off before class. Unless this is my emergency... fuck. I walk over to my desk and search for the emergency cellphone in my bag. I retrieve the cellphone; Ashley has been trying to call me. This can’t be good.

I place the cellphone inside my bag. Oh Lord... I really hope she’s okay. No! This is no time for negative thinking, I must act quickly. I start packing everything in my bag. Once I’m done with the packing, I take my bag and dismiss the kids.

“Class dismissed for the rest of the day.”

Everyone reacts exactly the way I expected, they all get confused but contented. Some start mumbling to each other and others start packing everything as fast as they can. I might get in trouble for leaving class like this, but I have no other choice.

I rush out the door. I walk at a fast pace in the hallway, there’s no one around. Thank God Ashley called me at this hour; if she had called me during break, this space would be full of kids and I’d take much longer to move around.

The phone keeps vibrating. Hang in there, sweetheart, when I make it to the car I’ll be able to talk to you. I can’t simply answer the phone inside the school, especially at a time like this. I must keep the low profile.

I start walking faster. A few moments later, I’m in the car. There’s no traffic, good. I open my bag and answer the call.

“Mom, I need your help!”

“Calm down, Ashley. Just tell me where you are.”

“I’m home. Sorry for calling this number but this is serious!”

“It’s ok, I’m starting the car and it’ll take me 3 minutes to get there. Have you called dad?”

“I tried, but his emergency phone was off.”

God damnit, Jeff. When this is over, I’m going to have a serious talk with you.

“Dear, are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m okay.”

“Good. Now, tell me what happened.”

“I-I didn’t mean to... it happened...”

She just sobs. It’s no use, I guess I’ll have to see what happened by myself.

“Look, just stay put and wait for me, I’ll be there in no time.”

I hang up the phone. I really can’t concentrate on driving and speaking on the phone at the same time, anyways. I try to calm down and prepare myself for the worst. I can still feel the tension in my shoulders and try to relax. I have to keep it together, panicking doesn’t help.

I manage to arrive home faster than I thought I would.

I leave the car and the first thing I see is James’ motorcycle. I can guess what happened. No wonder she was sounded so upset. This is not nearly as serious as what I thought had happened, but it’s still pretty bad.

I prepare myself for what comes next. I take a deep breath and open the front door. I calmly proceed walking to the living room. As I enter the living room, I see James’ corpe lying on the floor, blood pouring out from his neck. His t-shirt is stained with blood. Ashley is on her knees, holding his right hand and sobbing. She is staring at his dead eyes and mumbling something to herself.

Jeff always warned me she wasn’t ready for a relationship. And now this happened because I didn’t listen to him. I really thought Ashley could control herself not to let this happen. I told her how tempting it is to bite, but I can see I made a mistake by trusting her.

And James was a really good kid, it’s a shame he had to die so young. Hell, even Jeff liked him. He was so sweet, it’s uncommon to meet at person like him these days. But now that the evil’s done, there’s no turning back. Regretting my actions won’t solve any problems as well.

“Mom, you’re here! Can you bring him back?”

This is probably the worst part. I have to disappoint her and tell her I’m not powerful enough. She is staring at me; I can see hope in her eyes. But this isn’t that simple, and now that she took a risk, she will have to suffer the consequences. I don’t think even Jeff could save him, it’s too late now.

“Ashley, you know I can’t do that. Only dad has that kind of power.”

“No! I know you can do it! Mom, please, I-“

I slap her. I don’t like doing this, but she has to learn from her mistakes.

“Ashley, it’s too late. James is dead and it’s all your fault. I warned you not to bite humans. Now that the mistake is done, there’s nothing left to do. I know you really loved him, but you knew this could happen when you took the risk.”

She releases his hand. She gets up and starts breathing slower; I think she’s accepting the situation.

“I’m sorry, there really is no hope for James. Now we must be proactive and take care of this situation. Do you think you can do it?”

“Yes. Yes, I can do it.”

She nods and gets up. I can still see her shaking a little, but other than that, she seems to be calmer.

“First, go change your clothes and wash your face, you’re covered in blood. I’ll put the corpse in a bag and take it to the trunk. Come to the car whenever you’re ready, and bring a shovel with you.”