4
She heard the couple fighting in the science office's hallway as she opened the door. “Jeez, Gabe, you are so overreacting. We were not doing anything. He was just helping me with moving some things around in my room.” The woman said as she raised her voice, and then Larissa heard the man she had just met speak, “Ann, come on.”
“What?” the woman asked as it seemed like she was trying to think of something. Larissa had no patience for things like this or many people for that matter. She went to the classroom and looked around. It still looked pretty much the same as she went to sit down in her old seat. She was smiling again as she remembered the class and the older woman going after so many of her classmates, but she had a special place for Larissa, it seemed. The other students already didn’t like Larissa for many different reasons. A rumor spread by some old friends that had made it to the high school with the older brothers and sisters of the people in her grade. It could have been her siblings themselves.
It had seemed no one liked her at the time, and she spent most of the time in school dealing with the drama, which she hated. That was why she tried to keep to herself. She didn’t have a friend group like most people her age. She was often only in the company of the dead. She was fine with that most of the time. They didn’t cause all that much drama in the state that they were.
“Come on, what?” The woman demanded as the voices got louder, and Larissa picked up the textbook and started to review the chapter she was going to have to teach the class.
Gabe said, “Ann, I am not dumb despite what everyone thinks. I know you have been cheating on me. I don’t like the idea at all.”
“Get over yourself, Gabe.” She said as she stomped out the door and into the hallway. Then she poked her head back into the classroom and looked over Larissa. She walked back into the room, “Are you lost?”
“No,” Larissa said as she didn’t look up to the other woman. She didn’t need to see her to know what she was. She knew the people in the area. She knew the teachers for the most part. Larissa didn’t care what the features were on a person to see the person. She already had enough in front of her to know that she wouldn’t like the woman standing there staring at her.
“There is no class in here right now.” The woman said. Larissa didn’t need to address the woman with her name, which she had heard him say over and over again.
“I know that,” Larissa said as she waved her hand to the empty classroom that was in front of her. It was clearly empty.
“Then are you skipping or something?” The woman asked.
“No,” Larissa said as she lifted the newly printed teacher's id to the woman to be able to see.
“Oh. You must be new.” She said with a light laugh. She was eyeing Larissa up and down. “Geez, these teachers are getting younger and younger.”
“I am not a teacher,” Larissa said as she finally looked up and saw the woman who was in a low-cut shirt trying to show assets that she really didn’t have. It was not appropriate for school for a student, let alone a teacher. Though she was pretty, the woman’s attitude was showing on her face, and Larissa thought it was easy to see the woman’s intention. It wasn’t hard to figure the entire woman’s plan on everything in her life with a glance. “I am a doctor.”
“Sure.” The woman said as she rolled her eyes. This was a normal reaction from certain types of people. Larissa knew it well. They were the ones who liked to try and make themselves more important than her in any way necessary. They were the ones who needed the extra validation for themselves. “Of what exactly?”
“Medicine.” Larissa replied as she looked the woman in her face, “Among other things as well.”
“Right, you look like one of my statistic students.” The woman scoffed. “You really can’t be a doctor. You look like a little kid.”
“Well, looks can be deceiving,” Larissa stated and then went back to the book that was in front of her. Mrs. Libby walked into the room.
“Good that you are reviewing it.” She said as she looked at the other woman who was now glaring at Larissa. “This is almost the same book that you had ten years ago or so.”
“She was one of your students?” The woman asked Judy as she looked between the two women. She wanted to prove that the young woman in front of her was not what she said she was. That was plain to see for everyone in the room.
“Yes. Ann. Meet Dr. Larissa Walker.” Mrs. Libby said as she smiled her best smile, “She was my best student in thirty years of teaching and also a good friend for helping an old woman out.”
“Wait, she was your student ten years ago?” Ann finally asked.
“Twelve,” Larissa said as she kept her head in the book. “I was ten.”
“Ten or twelve, does it matter?” Mrs. Libby asked with a laugh. “Now I know you are tired.”
“I got off right before you called me,” Larissa said. She yawned slightly though she was fighting the tiredness. She had gotten used to working through being tired as she changed from the day shifts to the night ones. She preferred to work at night reviewing the other's work and handling what she had to do when it was called for.
“So I will only ask you to do one class today.” Mrs. Libby said with a sweet smile. “Ann, you might want to get on to your next class. It should be starting in a few minutes, you will find.” The woman looked between the two women and then turned on her heel and walked out of the classroom.
“She’s nice,” Larissa said as she looked up finally. It was plain to see what the woman really was. She didn’t need or want to know more about her. It seemed that some things never did change around here either.
“Making friends already.” Mrs. Libby said with a deep good-hearted chuckle that filled the room. “Larissa, that one is trouble. She is already disturbing my department with her relationship with him. Don’t get caught up in her drama as well. Though I rarely warn people to be careful that one will come to a bad end sometime.”
“Don’t worry,” Larissa said. “Not my scene.”
“Good.” Mrs. Libby said as she smiled again at the younger girl. “It is good to see you again, child.”
“Same,” Larissa said as she smiled at the older woman. Gabe walked into the classroom and looked between the two of them. It was plain to see he was still mad from the small tiff the couple had a few minutes earlier. The man unnerved her because of his looks, but Larissa just began to picture him without his skin, and she was back to normal. That was her trick. She used the old saying picture them naked but changed it to something she could actually do. She thought of them as an autopsy instead.
“So you were her student?” Gabe asked again, trying to be included in the small talk.
“Yea,” Larissa said. “This was my favorite class, and she was my all-time favorite teacher. She took a chance on me back then when most people didn’t want to have anything to do with a little kid. She was the one who treated me and talked to me like I was a person.”
“Must be weird to be back here.” He said as he looked around.
“It is a little.” Larissa laughed. “I was only here for a year, though.”
“A year?” He asked.
“Larissa was different in a good way. She only had to do a few required classes before she was moved on to the local university.” Mrs. Libby stated as she seemed to be enjoying getting a little praise from the younger woman. Larissa was one of the students the older woman had taken pride in. She had a short list of previous students that she liked to see from time to time. Larissa was on the top. She had known right from the start the little girl who walked into her class twelve years ago would be one of the ones who changed everything.
“Then med school,” Larissa said. “I was fourteen when I graduated from college and then seventeen when I graduated medical school. I did my residency and fellowships at the same time. So when I was done, I was really done. I got fast-tracked because of my age and also my supposed intelligence level.”
“Wow.” Gabe said as he looked her over, “That is impressive.”
“She is all of that. Impressive is only one word to describe her.” Mrs. Libby said as she looked him over, “I am glad that you can see that, but you, however, need some work.”
The two women were left alone for a minute as the older one looked at Larissa, and she smiled again. Gabe had gone back into the hallway with the offices to get some of his things for the next class though he was going to be watching her for a moment. Judy had already told him that was what he was going o do. His classes in the room that he shared with another teacher were in the afternoon, really. “Maybe you could work with him as well,” Judy said with a sigh as she watched him go.“What is so wrong with him that you have to constantly go at him like you are?” Larissa asked.“Sometimes, you just have to know which ones need the push in the right direction.” Mrs. Libby said with a smile, “He has potential, but he has to calm down a bit to get there. That witch is going to ruin him, though.”“You aren’t planning anything else, are you?” Larissa asked, kn
She was done with the class in an hour. Though she thought it went well, she knew how to make it better. There will be a few things that she could do that would be easy to make the class more fun for the teens there that were probably not all that into the actual class but there for a requirement. Though she was now in search of the older woman to see what else needed to be done for the day, she couldn’t find her. Larissa went into the greenhouse that was in the back of the offices for the science department and saw that Mr. Vincent was in there with a class. He looked over and smiled. “It hasn’t been used that much since you left. That was really the only time I ever saw it in use.”“Maybe I will get some seeds, and we can see it again in its former glory,” Larissa said with a smile as she saw the younger students all look at her like
Larissa hated the incinerator. She had been one of the few people allowed down in the basement under the science wing. It had been specially made for the school as one of the few dump sites for the animals they used for the dissection part of some of the classes. It was the place that other schools also could use. Though this was rare that they would even start it this early in the school year.Larissa didn’t know why the older woman wanted to use it, though. She was sometimes a little off on her timing. Though she did always have a reason why. Larissa didn’t care too much in the end. Gabe walked into the room behind her after a few minutes.“I am sorry for that.” He said softly. “I have no idea why she is that way.”“Probably because you accused her of cheating earlier,” Larissa said as she turned up the gas of it to light. Then she turned it back down to get it going a
She received a phone call about six hours later from the hospital. It seemed a bad accident had happened on the highway, and the casualties were too much for the staff they had. She rolled out of bed, knowing that she had to wake up enough to drive to the hospital herself. After a quick change, she was dressed in her favorite scrubs and had a cup of coffee ready for the trip.The hospital road was completely backed up. She saw it well before she was close to the hospital and then adjusted the way she drove in. She switched directions and went in the back way that most people didn’t know about. She had to park in the last row of the staff parking. There were more cars there than she had ever seen. That was her first clue that this was not going to be good.She went in and saw the overflow from the emergency department in the lobby and on the street in the front of the building. When she got up, and she pulled her hair u
Larissa didn’t want to start her shift this way. She knew it was going to be a super long night. An hour or so later, as she had five rooms going at the same time as she was supervising the students and the other pathologist in all they were doing to do this as fast as they could to clear the hallways. She went back to the conference room and was surprised to find them still in the room with George, who was going over the release to the funeral home and everything they would need to do.She smiled as she walked in and nodded to George. Gabe walked up in the back of her, “Thank you for giving her the time.”“You all need it.” She said as she looked up at him. “Do you need me to call someone?”“No. My brothers are on their way. I called them already. They are scattered all over the
The two sat mostly in silence as they drank their coffee, and every once in a while, Larissa would glance out of the window toward the school and saw the smoke rising above the trees. She felt the plummet in her chest as she didn’t want to think about it anymore. She looked at him, who was now looking at his cell phone waiting for something to arrive, and somehow Larissa knew it would never come in.“I guess I have my answer,” Gabe said as she looked up to Larissa from staring at his screen.“With? “Larissa asked.“She is definitely cheating on me,” Gabe said. “I guess that shouldn’t surprise me. I was just the latest victim in her long line.”“Maybe something else happened. Like someone she knew was also in the accident. Maybe she has to deal with that.” Larissa countered. Thoug
Larissa looked at him as she stopped the car. She really just wanted to drop him off and go home as she tried not to think of how this man affected her heart beating a little too fast. He was the only one that made her brain go blank for a moment when she first glanced at him. Her whole way of being was by herself though she never thought of anything different as well. She had her way of peeling the skin off people when she looked at them. This one made her forget how, though.She knew he was trouble for her. He looked at her with his piercing blue eyes. They were hypnotizing to her. She had to clear out her throat. He blinked his eyes. “Come inside?” his voice seemed to echo throughout the car.“I don’t think that is a good idea.” She said softly. “It has been a night.”“Please.” He asked as he touched
“Then why?” she asked as he got out of the car. She was now very confused and didn’t understand why he would want her there at all, let alone after saying that he didn’t want to sleep with her. This was unlike anything that she had ever heard of since things like this didn’t happen to her regardless.“Larissa, I think you need to understand a few things.” He said as he took her hand after opening the car door. “Sometimes, it is the smallest things that will lead to everything.”“Don’t talk in riddles.” She said as she shook her head, knowing that he was going to continue to confuse her if he did. She didn’t like them. Her brain had always had a problem with them as she would try and figure them out and lose out on time for other things.“Come on.” He said as he gently pulled on her arm. She hit the