Page 80 of Unhinged Kallie

“I don’t know,” Hicks whispered.

I pulled back to stay hidden but closed my eyes and listened.

“You’re failing Hicks, and this is your final year. Your sick mom can’t have that. She needs the medication. You can’t have bad grades now, can you?”

“No, Ma’am,” he said, his voice dejected. Everyone knew Hicks was poor, but by some miracle, he was a freakishly tall and talented basketball player. He was also determined to get drafted. I knew this because I knew things about everyone I thought could be helpful or an issue.

“Please call me Carol,” she said, and I couldn’t have rolled my eyes any harder. She really needed a new line. “So why don’t we find a private spot, and you can have a proper tutoring session?”

“Tutoring? Oh, I’m not sure that’s a good idea. I need to get home after school to take care of my mom.”

“Who said anything about after school? We could utilize one of these empty rooms right here. You look like you need to ease some tension.”

He gasped, and I needed to know what happened. It was hard to see from this angle, but I was pretty positive she was rubbing his cock through his jeans. One look at Hick’s face, and I knew he wasn’t into this. He looked like he wanted to jump out the second-floor window rather than stand there or go to a private room with her.

She used the same bullshit wording and ploy on Carter. Carter got lucky because he was never in one of her classes, but Hicks wasn’t so fortunate. Now, I should’ve filed the knowledge away, maybe snapped a picture, and minded my own fucking business. But I just didn’t feel like doing that today. I was annoyed that she abused her powers as a teacher to get what she wanted and gotten away with it this long.

I pulled out my phone and hit record, stuffing it in my pocket as I walked around the corner.

“Hicks, there you are.”

Mrs. Peterson jumped away from Hicks so fast I was surprised she didn’t end up on her ass. Hicks swung his head in my direction, looking mortified and relieved at the same time. We hardly spoke, but as I got closer, he looked ready to go along with whatever I said. It certainly wasn’t the face of a guy enjoying himself.

“I’ve been looking everywhere for you.” He opened his mouth, and I pointed my finger at him. “You left me in the library all alone. Are you standing me up for our tutoring session? You know you have to get your grades up.” I looked at Mrs. Peterson, acting as if I had just noticed her. “Oh, sorry, Mrs. Peterson, I didn’t mean to yell in the hallway.”

“Yes, you will want to keep your voice down. There are classes in session,” she said, and I almost bitch slapped her right there but smiled instead.

“Yes, of course. Did you need to speak to Hicks? I didn’t interrupt anything, did I?”

“We were actually talking about tutoring for Hicks,” she said, and if you didn’t know any better, she seemed invested in his wellbeing.

“Oh, well then, I guess it’s a good thing I found you. Even Mrs. Peterson thinks you need the extra work.”

“It’s fine, Kallie. You don’t need to help. I appreciate it, but a teacher should handle his tutoring.”

“It’s all good, Mrs. Peterson. Mr. Hicks is paying me to help his son. I need the money and don’t want to disappoint his parents. I mean, what will I say that the teacher decided to help instead?” I smiled.

I could feel Hicks’s eyes going back and forth between us.

“Yeah, that’s what I was trying to say earlier. I already have help,” Hicks said.

“See,” I said, happy Hicks had caught up and didn’t blow this by saying something stupid. “Besides, do you think someone with perfect scores in all classes can’t handle tutoring a fellow student? I’ve cleared this with the principal, but we can talk to him if you want to voice your concerns,” I said, stepping away from the pair.

“No, that’s quite alright. My main concern is that Hicks gets the help he needs, and it looks like you have that covered,” Mrs. Peterson said, her voice dripping with anger as she glared daggers at me. Sorry Mrs. P, no Hicks’ D for you today.

“Great, that’s settled. Come on, Hicks.” He grabbed his tattered backpack off the floor. “I don’t want to have to hunt you down again. You need to take your classes seriously.” I berated him down the hall and around the corner and heard Mrs. Peterson’s heels clicking as she walked away.

Pushing open the door to the stairwell, we stepped inside, and I waited until the door closed before talking.

“You owe me one, and if I were you, I’d keep my distance. She has a type, and you’re definitely on the menu.”

“Yeah,” Hicks said and rubbed the back of his neck. “I gathered that last week when she asked me to stay after class and sat on my desk with no underwear. If I told my girl, she would’ve lost her mind.”

“I don’t blame her. Look, I don’t have great tutoring skills, but I do have perfect grades. If you need help, I’ll take you on, but that will mean two favors.”

“What kind of favors are we talking about?”

I looked him up and down, which was much harder than it seemed, without craning my neck.