When the bell rings for lunch, I stand and look at our teacher. I'm not sure if I should be staying during lunch hour or not. Mr Price sees my hesitation and waves me over.

Hayley lurks by the door, waiting to see if I'm staying or going. I'm grateful for that. I don't really want to spend lunch searching for her if I'm not to be tutored this lesson.

"Today I'm helping Miss Hart with organising the Halloween party, so you have this lunch hour off," he says, smirking slightly.

"Right." I nod and go to turn.

A warm hand wraps around my wrist, startling me. I blink in shock and my mouth falls open when he turns my hand over and places something in my palm before using his free hand to close my fingers. "Watch your step."

When he releases me I look down at my closed hand and take note of the soft lump that hides beneath my curled fingers. I flex them, revealing the hidden gift, but my irritation spikes the second I do.

"My belt loop," I comment wryly, holding the denim strip between my fingers, the same strip that tore off when I got stuck on the office door. "You must think you're so amusing."

Mr Price throws his head back, his strong, corded neck flexing as he laughs at my expense.

Growling, I stomp to the door, flipping my hair as I go and dropping the belt loop in the bin.

"Goodbye, Eloise," he calls as I close the door behind me.

"What was that all about?" Hayley asks, her eyes glittering with curiosity and suspicion.

"Nothing," I say, still growling. "Teachers are stupid."

"Amen to that, Sister." She links her arm through mine and we walk towards the hall. "But seriously, what was that all about?"

"It's a long story."

Her eyes narrow as she glances at me sideways. "Right... if you say so."

"It's nothing, he just... he thinks he's funny is all."

"You two seem... close?" She prods, her elbow digging into my side at the same time. "He seems to pay more attention to you than the rest of us."

No he doesn't. "He's just doing his job."

"If you say so."

I sigh, pulling my arm free so I can look around to make sure n.o.body is listening in on our conversation. "Don't make it into something it isn't. You know how everybody around here can be. I'm not having my reputation and his tarnished because he wants me to succeed in his cla.s.s."

"Fair point. n.o.body would blame you though..."

"Blame me?" What on earth is she talking about?

"Yeah, I mean... he is really freaking hot."

"Amen to that, Sister," I giggle, pulling her back into my side. "Come on, I'm hungry and I have an extra sandwich in my bag with your name on it."

"Now that is a language I speak."

"The language of sandwiches?"

"Is it ham?"

"And egg, with salad."

"Then yes, the language of sandwiches."

I shake my head with amus.e.m.e.nt. "You're so weird."

"And hungry..."

My stomach growls angrily, confirming the fact that I am too. "Let's go. I think Garrett is meeting us in the hall."

"Commons or actual hall?"

"Commons." We both turn right at the same time, smiling together as the conversation shifts to things I'm comfier discussing.

Is she right? Does Mr Price pay more attention to me? It sure seems that way. And if so, then why me?

Isaac I pluck the belt loop from the empty bin and pocket it. I'm not sure why I do it and before I have a chance to think about it, the door opens and in strolls Katherine, a book and pen in one hand and a bag of food in the other.

"Shall we begin?" She grins, her eyes dragging up and down my body before meeting mine. I nod and offer her my comfy seat behind my desk. "Such a gentleman."

First time I've ever been called that and it will probably be the last.

"I've gotten a few students on board. Their ideas are actually really good, but I'm not sure we have enough time to put them into action."

Katherine's eyes light up. "If it means extra hours after work, I don't mind."

Well I do. "Right."

"Unless you're helping out with your mum. I totally understand."

My guilt overrides my selfishness. "It's fine. I'll be able to fit a few late days in, I'm sure."

"Excellent!" She claps her hands together and slides the bag of food my way. "Let's begin."

I sit by my mum's hospital bed holding her frail hand as she sleeps peacefully, her chest rising and falling with each calm and relaxed breath.

My dad sits the other side, his head bowed from exhaustion and sorrow.

"She won't move," My dad says in response to my suggestion. "She'll only get worse faster if she's in a place that she doesn't know."

I know he's right, but we can't keep going through this. "Then we need to install a stair lift and make the house suitable."

"Do you have ten grand?" My dad snaps, his troubled, bloodshot eyes on me.

"We'll come up with something. We'll have to."

My dad's shoulders slump and his head rests against my mother's arm. "We'll tackle one thing at a time. This is the second fall she's had this month. Stair lift first. If we put our wage packets together, we'll be able to have one installed."

"I could get a loan."

"No." My dad lifts and shakes his head. "That should be our last resort. Right now it isn't necessary. We'll figure it out."

I release mum's hand and stand, eager to stretch my legs. "What about when it gets worse? What are we going to do then?"

"I'll just have to leave work. I have a pension waiting for me. If I appeal and explain my circ.u.mstances..."

My mum groans in her slumber and rolls, wincing as she tries to move the leg that has been wrapped in bandages and placed on rolled up blankets to keep her elevated. My dad hits the b.u.t.ton to call the nurse and, just like that, we both stop talking and instead sit in silence until the sun rises in the sky.

Eloise "Mr Price?" I say softly as I walk into his cla.s.sroom.

His head is on his arms and his eyes are closed. His face is towards me and the way his lips are scrunched and slightly parted is actually kind of adorable.

Maybe I should let him sleep.

Nah.

"Mr Price?" I make my way over to him, stopping when my thighs are against his desk. My finger hovers above his head for a moment before I make the final decision to tap his temple. I do it a little bit harder than I planned, but it doesn't seem to stir him from his slumber. "h.e.l.lo?"

I drop my bag on the floor, hoping the bang will wake him. It doesn't, although he does let out an unattractive snort before burying his face directly into the circle of his arms.

I tug on a blond lock of hair at the base of his head, the sensitive hairs that sit along his neck. He only grunts and shrugs his shoulders.

"Does this mean I can go?" I reach for my bag again.

A vice like grip snags the sleeve of my jumper, causing me to jolt in shock and surprise. "I'm awake." He says this without lifting his head from his other arm. "Sit."

"Umm..."

The door opens without a knock and Miss Hart stops with her hand on the handle. Her eyes shoot between Mr Price and myself as he abruptly releases me and sits upright.

The way he suddenly moved just made this entire thing look extremely suspicious. I'm not sure what to do now. I'm certain that standing on the spot with wide eyes and twitching hands is really not helping this situation at all.

"Is there a problem, Eloise?" Miss Hart asks, still glancing between myself and Mr Price, who now looks casual, albeit tired.

"Umm... No, I'm supposed to be here to..."

"She's here to help with the Halloween event." Mr Price lies and I could kick him for this particular lie. I hate being volunteered for stuff I don't want to do. "I fell asleep. She was waking me it seems."

Miss Hart's eyes remain suspicious but her tense body slowly relaxes. "Well, thank you for the help, Eloise. I heard that your dad might be sponsoring the event?"

"I haven't spoken to him yet. He's been working out of town the past few days."

Miss Hart nods and moves further into the room. "Well, get back to us as soon as possible if you could."

I nod my agreement, unsure of what to do or say.

"You can go, Eloise. I'll give you a shout if we need anything." Mr Price nods towards the door. I take that as my cue and don't hesitate to make a run for it.

"Sleeping?" I hear Miss Hart say quietly as I pa.s.s. "Anything to do with why your dad isn't present today?"

"Mum had an accident," he mutters back, right before I close the door behind me.

It's not until I'm half way to the common room that I realise I left my bag behind. I don't bother going to get it though. I don't want to walk back into that awkwardness again.

No thank you!

I really hope Mrs Price is okay. The thought of her being hurt makes me sad inside. She was always such a kind and caring person.

Isaac "I'm sorry about your mum and I really hope she recovers soon, but... I'm not going to lie..." Katherine shifts on the spot as a frown turns her face. "What just happened? What did I just walk into?"

"Exactly what I said." I respond quickly and clearly. "I'm not that kind of man, Miss Hart."

"I didn't say you were, but now you're getting defensive I am starting to wonder..."

My hands clench into fists. "I'm just helping her out. She's in a bad place right now."

"Please, that girl doesn't know what a bad place is." She snorts and it's definitely not attractive.

I sit tensely, my eagerness to defend the young girl stronger than I'd like to admit. "Why? Because her parents have money? She's going through something right now and she needs support. n.o.body else seems to care, so I'm trying my best to at least relate to her on some level... the best I can do at this point is help her with her school work and keep an eye on her."

"There are a lot of students in this school that come from harsher backgrounds. Why her? Why not the others?"

My heart skips a beat and thrums with anger. "Are you suggesting I have a soft spot for this particular student? All of my other students are doing okay as far as I've noticed. Eloise not so much."

"She seems fine in my lessons. What's wrong with her?"

I shake my head, refusing to reveal a secret which isn't mine to tell. "It's probably nothing. She's falling behind before we've even begun and, after her year last year, I guess I'm just worried."

"And you're sure she's not just pretending to be stupid so that she gets more attention from you?" Katherine laughs coldly. "I don't mean this in a suggestive way, but have you seen yourself? I'm sure she's not the only one."

"I'm not stupid and she isn't like that. She's got enough on her plate." Why is this making me so angry?

"Like what?" She sits on the table opposite my desk, her arms folded against her chest. "I'm calling bulls.h.i.t."

"I'm not sure I like where this is going."

Her own irritation falters and a false smile settles on her no longer pretty face. "I just don't want her... putting you in a position where it might be hard to... resist."

"I'm done with this conversation."

"Look, I know Eloise. I've known her a long time. She's a very, very attractive young lady. The boys used to buzz around her like flies to s.h.i.t and she'd lap it up. She'd have a different guy on her arm every other week... I'm not saying she's promiscuous, just that she enjoys the attention."

That's b.o.l.l.o.c.ks. "Are you sure we're talking about the same Elle?"