Narrow Escape

Given Morris’s heightened state of panic, when he felt the touch of a hand on his shoulder, he jumped forward and gave out a startled shout of alarm.

Both girls stopped and Ms. Mackenzie appeared through the doorway.

“Kimber, Elisha,” said the teacher, looking first from one girl to the other.

“Ms. Mackenzie,” they replied in unison.

“Won’t you join me?” she asked, holding her hand toward the open door. The girls exchanged looks before nodding.

“Why don’t you run along Morris, we can continue this conversation later” Ms. Mackenzie said to the obvious agitated boy.

He crossed to the far side of the hall, turning his back to the lockers and watching warily as the two girls walked toward the door of Ms. Mackenzie’s room. He wanted to yell out and warn the teacher, tell her to run, these girls were not what they appeared and she was in danger before she disappeared back into her classroom.

Elisha walked into the room first, coy smile playing at the corners of her mouth before she passed through the portal. Kimber followed, but stopped just outside the door, turning back to look at Mo.

Reaching her left hand up, she cupped her left breast through her shirt with her left hand, slowly caressing the front of it with her thumb. He stood there confused. She pulled her shirt out a touch, looking down before meeting his gaze again.

She grinned and mouthed the words, “Where’s Tommy?” before releasing her shirt and turning to enter the classroom, closing the door behind her.

What the hell does that mean? Where’s Tommy? And feeling yourself up, what was that about? Then it hit him. Did she shrink Tom and was he being held inside her shirt? He shook his head. Couldn’t be. He snorted. What about Ms. Mackenzie? While he felt relatively confident that nothing would come of the meeting between the girls and the teacher, he also feared maybe he had put the gorgeous educator in jeopardy. He shook his head. Mo a captive in Kimber’s top, what would they do to Ms. Mackenzie? He paced back and forth a few steps.

The classroom door opened and panic gripped him. While he had been standing there ruminating, the very real prospect he had exhausted time for flight occurred to him. He needed to get away. Running as fast as his long legs would carry, he rushed away from the room and down the stairs, almost going ass over tea kettle and falling down the second flight in his haste.

When he hit the bottom of the stairs and rounded the corner, nearly bowling Silke over in the process.

“Hey Morris,” she said, startled expression on her pretty face. “Where you going like you got a pack of rabid zombies chasing you?”

He paused a moment to catch his breath.

She put a steadying hand on his shoulder, “You okay?”

He nodded, bent at the waist, still sucking in large lungsful of air.

She grinned, eyebrows raised quizzically.

He shook his head, “Nah, I’m alright,” he said between breaths, “I didn’t see Sly today?”

She shook her head, dark hair swaying back and forth. “He had a doctor’s appointment this morning and some other stuff to take care of in the afternoon,” she informed.

Standing more upright, hands on thighs, “He didn’t respond to my texts,” he said.

“I think mom told him if he was sick he couldn’t play with his phone or something,” she explained, though she shrugged her shoulders in a noncommittal kind of way as if to say she wasn’t entirely sure.

“Have you seen Tom, did he go over to your house?” he asked.

Again she shook her head, “I haven’t seen him all day, just you,” she said, giving him a smile.

“But yesterday, did you talk with any of the Graces about what Tom said I said?” he asked, breathing rate returning to normal.

She giggled, “I spoke to Elisha, she seems quite smitten with you by the way, anyway we shared a good chuckle on account of you got too high yesterday and were hallucinating, but Tom didn’t say what you were tripping about, least I don’t remember anyway,” she answered, taking a glance at the clock hanging down from the ceiling.

He noticed her checking the time, “You stayed late today,” he commented.

She nodded and patted the book at her side, “For history,” she said with an exaggerated eyeroll.

He nodded and turned slightly, “Why don’t you let me walk you to your car?” he offered.

“How very chivalrous of you,” she said in a quasi-formal tone and a slight curtsy.

He grinned. And genuflected awkwardly, “After you milady,” he said, falling in step beside her once she started walking. “Don’t you think it odd Elisha Harrow should take an interest in me?” he asked.

She chuckled, “Why so?” she asked, looking at him in side profile.

“Come on,” he chided, “One of the hottest girls in school, a senior, who could get any dude her little heart desires, starts making inquiries about me?” he asked, snorting in disbelief.

She laughed. “Are you trying to solve the riddle of how the female mind operates?” she asked jokingly.

He shook his head slowly. “I just find it weird is all,” he commented wryly.

“Weird or not, just go with it. There are probably hundreds of guys in this school who would give a nut just to get her to give them a second glance,” she teased.

“She kind of creeps me out,” he confessed, exiting the school near the student lot.

Silke chortled, “Creeps you out? Because she’s maybe holding a candle for you? Morris, you are an absolute idiot,” she accused.

He stopped and turned to face her, “It’s not that, it something else,” he said, tone low and serious.

“Is she carrying your love child?” she asked surreptitiously.

He frowned, “No, but,” he shook his head, choosing not to finish and resuming his walk toward her car.

“But what?” she said, catching up and setting her books on the roof of her Chevy Cavalier before fishing her keys out of her purse.

“If something should happen to me,” he started, voice low, wary.

She shook her head, an inquisitive expression on her face. “Get in,” she invited, slipping into the car and unlocking the passenger door.