The Golden Boy

Chapter 6

The Golden Boy.

Lyla Atelo.

My nerves were frayed from the tension in class today. The stranger had just surprised me over and over again. And what had happened to the boy from earlier? Clear out his lockers? Was he being expelled?

"Are you Lyla?" A tall and slim woman called me from the corridor. She held books in her hands the same way I held mine, and I quickly assumed that she was also a teacher. My fellow colleague in this profession. Immediately, all my worries were thrown into a closet as I felt giddy with excitement.

I have a colleague!

"Yes, I'm Lyla." I told her with a wide smile on my face. "How about you?"

"I'm Ria." She replied with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. She seemed worried. "I heard what you did today, we all did."

It was then I noticed three more teachers behind her. One male, and the other two were females. A little frown formed on my face.

"What did I do?" I was confused, and somewhat scared.

"You put your career at risk, Lyla." The female teacher in a burgundy dress clicked her tongue and came forward, stretching out her hand. "I'm Cecelia, by the way."

"You guys are actually scaring me," I searched their face for something that could give away whatever they were thinking. "I have only taught one class since morning, and I don't think I've really done anything that would elicit this kind of look from you."

"Haven't you noticed it already?" Cecelia asked while unwrapping a sweet and sticking it into her mouth. "The weird looks that students are giving you? Some are pitying you, and some—"

I waved my hand in the air in frustration. "Okay, what is really going on?" My eyes darted past the hallways, and truly, students were looking over at me and pointing. Some were shaking their heads sadly. What had I done?

"You antagonized the school's golden boy." Ria said immediately, and the image of a figure crept into the back of my mind. I shook my head to clear him out. It couldn't be him. "Was it Mr. Gonzales?"

"Who is that?" Cecelia's eyebrows pinched together as if thinking hard to put a face on the name.

"I'm sure she means Rashford." It was the man that spoke this time. "Top player in the football team, but that is not who we are talking about. Rashford has already been expelled from the school."

My heart sunk at that. "What did he do? I agree that he was being naughty in class today, but besides that...what did he do to get expelled for?"

"Antagonized the school's golden boy as well. Expulsions are rare in this school, Lyla... but when they do happen, we know that it is linked to the golden boy."

"Can you put a name to this golden boy already?" I was beginning to get freaked out. I mean, I just got this job and I would really like to keep it. I was tired of being a stay-at-home housewife, living on my grandmother's fifty years savings. I wanted a career for myself.

"Sage Dominic." Ria said, tucking her ginger hair between her ears.

I squinted for a while. That name didn't ring any bell to me.

"Tall? Really handsome? Jet black hair that is always tousled? Dark dreamy eyes?" Cecelia began describing the person absentmindedly, and the person that I tried to forget sprung up in the back of my mind again.

Those were the best fitting descriptions for him. But I still wasn't going to accept it.

"Aren't they all handsome?" I quipped, chuckling more to myself than to them.

Cecelia rolled her eyes. "You're sweet, but really hopeless." Then, she put the sweet wrap between her books and pressed it tightly. A weird behaviour, but... "Fine, if you can't remember his facial features, what of his outlook? Cold? Aloof? Seemingly unbothered? The student you got angry at for sleeping in your class?"

If my heart could sink lower than it already had, it would be somewhere hanging for its life in an abyss. The stranger... His name is Sage? And he is the golden boy of the school? What have I gotten myself into?

"We can just hope that he forgets what happened in class today, maybe your job will still be safe." Ria held my shoulders while speaking softly to me.

"Is... I mean... Are his parents the owners of the school?" I couldn't help but ask.

The second woman who hadn't made a comment yet spoke. "No. His family are just the highest contributors to the school. You see, most students in the school have their parents to contribute to for the welfare of the school so that they can enjoy certain privileges from the principal," she paused to look at me. I held her gaze and she continued. "The Dominics double what the entire parents pay just for Sage to have his own privileges. We heard he was homeschooled right from birth. This final year is his first time in a school, and his family wants to make it as seamless as possible."

She hadn't even finished speaking and I could feel cold sweat pouring down between my breasts. My mind wandered back to Sage's face in the class. He hadn't seemed threatening at all in class, instead it seemed like he found the situation humorous. But... He has the whole school at his feet, and if he wants to, he can—

"Lyla, are you okay?" The voice seemed to echo in the back of my mind. My vision had become blurry and my heart rate seemed to increase. Panic seizes my entire body.

I realized, in horror, I had forgotten to take my medication this morning. The dizzy spells hit harder than usual, and I was overcome with a strong urge to throw up. I stumbled slightly and almost hit my head against the wall.

"Breathe, Lyla, breathe..." Warm hands encircled my waist while trying to hold me steady. "Is it a panic attack?" The male teacher who held me asked. "I understand that this can be quite overwhelming for you. But, if it helps, you didn't know about it. The principal was supposed to explain things to you like she did to us. If you knew, you would have just ignored him in class."

I placed my hand against the nearest wall, trying to ground myself. I tried the different methods in getting back all my five senses. Five things I could see, four things I could hear, three things I could feel, two things I could perceive, and one thing I could taste. I counted ten seconds after, and I began regaining myself. I pushed myself up, away from the wall to meet the eyes of my worried colleagues.

"Maybe we could all go as teachers and beg on your behalf? That way, you may have a chance to keep your job..." My male colleague suggested, and just as they were about to agree or disagree on something, my eyes caught a figure across the hallway.

He paused in his steps and his eyes narrowed at me. I could feel the deadly aura that emanated from him. But, he wasn't looking at me... I followed his line of sight until my eyes reached the arms that were still wrapped around my waist. Sage's nose flared in anger before he disappeared in the corner with his friend following beside him.

And somehow, I knew that it wasn't going to be me losing my job. It would be my colleague's job on the line.