Page 73 of Jain

“Even teachers drink on a school night,” she joked, and I smiled grimly.

“Especially on a school night.”

“I’m going to be bold here. You and Jain. Am I right?”

I froze, but suddenly I realised I no longer cared who knew. Jain was marrying someone in less than two weeks.

“Yeah, past tense.”

Sarah changed colour about three times as she glanced around us.

“Okay, aside from the fact that it’s stupidly hot, what the actual fuck?! She never told any of us!”

I groaned, wishing she had told me the opposite. “Great. Well, yeah. There you go.”

I selected two bottles of red wine before walking up tothe self-service checkout. Sarah followed me, glancing around us like she was on a secret mission.

“She doesn’t love him. Well, she’s not in love with him.”

I closed my eyes, wondering if this was a sick joke.

“If she’s not in love with him, why is she marrying him?” I pointed out, bagging my wine before walking towards the door.

“Because! She’snice!”

I stared at her as I unlocked my car.

“She’snice? Come on, Sarah. No one marries someone out of courtesy.”

“Well, they do. People do it for financial reasons, business arrangements—”

“What are you saying, Sarah? I’ve had a shit day.” I sighed as she nodded.

“Don’t give up, Sir.”

I sighed, leaning against my car as I gazed at her. “Aside from tying her to my car and driving her far away, I have done everything.”

“Just don’t give up, okay, Sir?” Sarah repeated as I nodded slowly.

“Evan. Not Sir,” I sighed.

Sarah wrinkled her nose up before walking away from me.

“Nah, you’ll always be Sir to me.”

Jain

"You've got to be shitting me.You'reMiss Martin?"

The voice that demanded my attention came from the surly teenager who stood in the doorway, frowning at me with a disgusted expression on his face. I clocked his unironed clothes, the scuffed shoes. The piercings in his ear that I knew he wasn't old enough to have.

"Kellan Clarke?" I asked smoothly, moving my attention back to the papers before me. "Fifteen years old—"

"I'll be blunt with you. I've slept with women older than you," Kellan declared, not moving from the classroom door.

"That's great, Kellan, but I didn't ask for your sexual history. Can you take a seat?"

"Why do I have to call you Miss Martin if you get to call me by my first name?" He pointed out, refusing to move from the doorway.