Solving a Dazzling Puzzle

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
chapter 4

Chapter 1

Thursday's afternoon, Another afternoon for the record. I'm in front the door of the old classroom designated to problematic students. Each day, a different teacher needs to take responsibility for this room. Truth is that the only day in which this room is really occupied are Thursdays. Is not that the troublesome students like me it's just that... no wait, it actually is because the troublesome students like me...

I sigh and grab the knob of the door, expulsing all the tension I can before opening the door.

"Good afternoon... Dazzlings," I said, a defeated tone slipped its way through my words without my permission. I glance to the center of the room, and just as I thought, there they are, the Dazzlings, a group of three senior girls, talented in the art of music. For my co-workers and the principal herself, they are nothing but troublesome girls; can't blame them for thinking like that though, they had a record which preceded them from before they got here, and to top it off they are repeating last year.

I turned my eyes to take a good look at their faces, I can bet that the second I got inside the room their expression turned into the sly look they had now.

The first one to catch my attention is Adagio Dazzle, a young woman of hourglass shaped figure and curly orange hair with a yellow streak that goes around the midsection of her head like a giant tiara, she usually wears loose clothes in the top and something more fit in the bottom section, just like the current pink sleeveless blouse and the pitch black Lycra she is wearing right now. But what really got my attention on her was her lack of boots, the usual black boots she wears all the time... I drift off for a moment, cleansing my head of any kind of intentions regarding the schemer girl in front of me who is shamelessly showing her feet through the black transparent socks, like she was trying to lure a foot fetishist.

My eyes go left, converging with the disdain look on Sonata Dusk's eyes; the shortest one of the trio, a petite girl with blue hair with dark blue stripes. she is wearing a velvet dark red jacket, a pink short skirt, pink socks with dark red stripes and pink tennis shoes. I hum softly. Sonata... the childish and innocent of them all... well when I said innocent-

My eyes caught the unkind movements of Sonata's elbows, featuring movement bellow my point of view. Out of curiosity, and maybe because I left my guard down, I drifted my eyes downwards.

...

I snapped my face to the side, looking out the window. she flashed her lilac underwear the instant she recovered enough consciousness to notice I was looking at her. In the scheming or trouble maker path, she is the most innocent of the trio, but she is obscenely attracted to me; more than once I was saved by the others two of being caught in a compromising situation with Sonata.

I move my head back to position zero, wincing in pain while doing so. My neck didn't receive that snap with open arms.

"Is anything wrong anon?" Asked the last one of the group, Aria Blaze, a girl with the body of an athlete that trains for a hobby; you will commonly see her with a sleeveless shirt, a jacket, pants of any sort and black boots. She is the most rebel of the group, and to top it off, she is the kind of girl who never beats around the bush.

Actually, her question was something to be amazed at, she will usually put a joke regardings the safety of my chastity or something related inside her honest intention to ask if I wasn't hurt. Maybe I'm finally making her change for good.

"I'm fine Miss Aria, just a little cramp" I answer to her politely. I took a stack of papers from my desk while trying to contain my eager wish to be more happy about the presumption of Aria developing into a good and respectable member of society.

My eyes move slowly from the bottom of the paper to the top edge, while my muscle memory helps me handle the talk, "I have been talking with your math teacher...".

I lost the trail of my current sentence, noticing someone else aside from the usual residents of this hour. My heart sank for a moment when I recognize the fourth student in the classroom, a first-year student, more than that, a promising new leaf for the campus, "What is he doing here?" I asked before glaring at the trio of girls which were still looking at me in a seductive manner, "I hope you have nothing to do with this".

From the center of the trio, Adagio raised her hand, making her pink blouse raise up enough to give me a sneak peek of her slim body. "I'm sorry to disappoint you anon, we forgot to get an appointment to our date with you so we had to improvise a quick way to get here before the day ended" she explained while her hand played with the hair on her back.

I rubbed my eyes and sighed again. With an apologetic look, I approached the first year student, "Okay, first of all, are you okay?" I asked to the depressed boy in front of me.

"After Phys Ed, they stole my clothes while I was taking a shower..." he clenched his hands into fists, As anger burned inside him, "and then they forced me to walk out into the campus corridors to get my clothes back... I got sent here after the principal saw me running through the corridors wearing nothing but a towel."

I laid a reassuring hand on the head of the boy and pat him reassuringly, "I'm really sorry to hear that, but don't worry, I'll talk with the principal on your behalf and clear your record ... now go to your next class, your teachers have high expectations for you and your future".

He looked at me with new hope in his green eyes, "Seriously?! Thanks, Teacher!" he cheered, all traces of his depression disappeared. "What about them? They were the responsible for this after all." he asked while getting his backpack filled to the brim with books, eyes glaring with mild anger at the trio.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of them." I stated with a smile, earning a quiet giggle from Sonata Dusk whom I had grown accustomed to over the several detentions the trio had been in. Seconds later the junior was out of the room, a trail of happiness could be felt from the path he used on his way out.

"So... you are gonna take care of us you say?" Sonata cooed, granting a glance from me... unfortunately, she took the opportunity to cross her legs together in her seat, flashing her panties on purpose again.

I closed my eyes and moved with poise to the teacher's desk in front of the board, "Sonata, I had already warned you about your choice of attire." I reprimanded her.

"Don't worry anon, she is cautious around everyone in this school but you," Aria Blaze commented, "We have to be thankful for that, otherwise everyone in this school would think of her as a slut... not that she isn't one but-"

"And we are really thankful for how well you trained Aria." interrupted Sonata with a sarcastic tone, "she would be a convict by now if not by anons special puppy training."

"Me? His puppy? yeah right," she laughed, "That virgin over there is my b-" Aria stopped, her eyes catching the stern look I was wearing.

"Aria, you are a beautiful lady and shouldn't dirty your mouth with those repulsive words." I reprimanded her while paying no attention to her statement about my hold in the virgin status, "As I was saying before, I talked with your math teacher, he was really impressed with the test I gave you Sonata, he even asked if I was the one who made it. It was a little hard to convince him otherwise though".

I scratch just behind my ear, eyes now focusing on the papers in my hand, "Your expertise in math makes me wonder if you can go into scientifically related care-" Something disturb my surroundings. As I lift my eyes I find myself four inches apart of Sonata's charming and joyful face, her glee almost becoming something tangible.

"I love when people recognize my true genius," she said in a breathless tone.

"Well, don't get used to it, because anon is the only person in this world capable to find that inside that trash can you call a brain." Aria commented from behind her friend, Sonata, for her part paid no attention to Aria’s words and keep gazing at me with heart shaped eyes.

I sigh in discontent, these two relationship is something that is on my repair list too. But I'm just a master in biology. Resolving their conflicts should be the work of the school psychologist, but she had quitted after one session with the trio. I put my mind back on track and confronted the lovestruck girl in front of me with a supportive smile.

"I think you could use your skills to help your friends. Even more, let's make that your new task till your next exam comes." I promoted the idea, earning a handful of nods from the young lady.

"I'll do my best," she said before turning her expression into a pout "but first I want my reward for my previous job".

I huff and rub my temples at her words. Sweet god, how I hoped that this time this wouldn't be necessary. When I first stepped into their lives with the purpose of changing their bad behalf towards society and giving them a path to a brighter future, the idea of me giving them affectionate kiss as a reward was something that would have never cross my mind.

I put the papers on the desk and look at her with a defeated expression, "We need to stop these kind of deals..." I rub the back of my neck, "It's not healthy for our relationship as teacher and student."

I compose myself and look at her with a stern look, raising an authoritative finger, "If we are still going into a system of rewards for every task I ask of you three to do. Then we'll need to change the type of reward for something more healthy.”

"Come on Virgin is just a kiss, we aren't even asking for a makeout session, you should be grateful for that." Aria said pointedly before Adagio patted her mouth with a finger.

"Actually, I think it's a good idea," She said with a sly smile, "And I already have something to propose," her eyes caught my intrigue look and, as on cue, she turned her expression into something more natural.

Whatever it is, it can't be good news for me.

"What if instead of affection, you hear our new songs in progress?"

"Wait, wait, but what about my reward?!" Sonata pouted, "Anon stills owes me a kiss!".

"Stop being a cry baby and just get over it," Aria added. An argue soon started between the two girls.

As I watched the discussion and rambling play out, the back of my mind was processing my next decision. Hearing their new songs was nothing if I compared with the multiple times I had to kiss them. A part of me was excited, hoping that the trio was actually changing their way; the idea of them and their lovestruck affection towards me is a thing of the past just served to raise that hope. But...

‘There is always a catch’ I thought, after looking at the smug smile plastered on the face of the leader. Her expression was filled with confidence and a hidden hint of malice that I was able to notice just because of my experience with them.

I hum for a moment. ‘Well, it's worth a shot. odds are in my favor, after all, is better to be found out hearing them sing that kissing them.’ I clear my throat after making up my mind, signaling a stop to the bickering from the duo and getting the Sonata's attention.

"Sonata, I'm a man who keeps his words. You earned the kiss, and you will have it, so tell me where you want it, and remember, no mouth, neither funny business".

The young lady fisted the air, a hissing "yes" escaped her mouth in all her glory. She looked at me, her expression yelling to the world that she already knew where she wanted her reward, "on my forehead." she stated while approaching to my side and pointing out, “Remember it needs to be a good, warm and fuzzy kiss!”

I took a huge breath, calming my nerves and pushing away my pride as a professional teacher. I'm gonna make sure to change the way of thinking in this girls for the greater good; a silly kiss is nothing to be worried for if it serves to give this trio a bright future to look forward to.

Now with a serene mind, I got in front of my desk. Sonata is right in front of me, her utter cheer was powerful enough to make her body shiver in suspense. I open my arms and hug her tenderly, letting my warm and calm body peace her heart, which was beating like a frenzy rabbit. She got calm after some seconds, her blood pressure was still high that's for sure, but at least I don't have to worry about a sudden heart attack.

Her breaths have become heavier, and I can feel her warmth irradiating towards my body... just like her chest is trying to rub against mine.

"Not funny business, young lady," I say while patting the back of her head. She stopped rubbing against me, I take that as an opportunity to end this. Holding her head from the back I rub my lips against her forehead before placing a soft kiss on it. She moans in delight, enjoying every one of the five seconds I used to give the kiss.

"So... delicious..." she cooed her breath running out by the second. I release her slowly since an abrupt movement could disturb her, just like in past occasions. "You outdid yourself~".

Those words... I have been telling myself for a long time that I do this because I care about the girls... but, the way they react after I give them a reward. It intrigues me, beyond the simple presumption of them having a mental condition that relays on me; there is something else, something that my eyes cannot devise.

"World to anon?" The words of Adagio resonate through my mind, "Did Sonata's features finally got you?"

I woke up from my mild slumber, "huh, no, of course no, I just drift off for a moment. I had a lot of work to do today and sometimes I don't realize when I'm over thinking" I lied. ‘Why I felt so tired?’

"So delicious~"

The words made echo in my head and a cold shiver ran up my spine. It felt like something primal the kind of fe-

"So... Sonata will help us with math?" Aria commented, “What about us?"

I force myself out of my dazzled state and search one of the papers inside the stack that rest on my desk, "Oh, yeah that's right, you had a special job this time, I will need an eassy from you" I find the notes for the report and start making my way to them, "featuring the study and use of a methodology for the development of a project in a fictional company".

I hand the papers to Adagio and Aria, "Aria you will take care of the methodology, choosing which one suits best for the project and describing how it will be implemented." I turn my eyes to the left, "Adagio, you will handle the resources and personnel in order to make Aria's methodology work properly and complete the job done within the time limit established for the company.”

I turn to face Sonata, who is still lost because the previous show of affection, "Sonata will help you both handle all the things math related. My intention is that she helps you both handle the statistics related to the company development and the methodology that they already had used in the past."

Adagio and Aria exchanged glances of confusion between them before Adagio turned her sight towards me, "This doesn't sound like the kind of thing we will usually do..." she commented before crossing her arms.

"This is a extracurricular test that could serve you in the future, I have great expectations from you three." I took a glimpse on their expressions, their cheeks turned red for a moment after receiving those words, "But, I can't give you the details about what this little test really is".

"Hey, don't get cocky on us, this test sounds nuts," Aria said.

I signaled for her to calm down, "Don't worry Aria you have two weeks to give me this. Besides, is not like this will have an impact on your grades." I explained to her.

"So... what you are truly saying is that this is extra work? That doesn't seem fair to us." Adagio refuted, her mischievous smile prompting into the surface, "but, we could make this work. That's if you let us sing one of our songs today and other in two weeks".

I sit on my desk, my arms feel a little crampy so I give them a stretch while thinking in Adagio's deal.

‘It's nothing really serious, just a song... well probably a chant, they are more into the aria type of songs.’

"Sure, it sounds fine for me"

‘Then why my heart is pounding like this?’

The Dazzlings got up and composed their posture, after that they started taking slow breaths.

‘This must be only my mind playing me tricks... since this is the only time they had tried to do something normal for me,

my mind is trying to figure out any kind of possible in which this goes wrong or... even lewd.’

They start chanting tones from Do to Fa... a sweet and comforting chorus. My mind starts to dance to the music... and I feel myself floating.

...

I start to lose awareness of my surroundings, and with that, all my problems and cares also fade into the infinite ocean created by the dazzling music of the trio. I close my eyes and let my body surrender to the pleasure that comes from the touch of the ocean's waves. My mind wasn't the one to say no to those waves either.

The powerful sound of the bells wake me up from my slumber, those bells signaled the end of the day. I sit up while forcing my head to process the last moments in which I was conscious. On my way up a note that was laying on my stomach felt to my side.

‘What is this?’ I took the note and read it quickly, my brain is focusing more on the exams for the next week than anything else but even still I manage to gather some info from the letter 'Dear anon... you should take care of yourself... you fell asleep while we were singing... you looked so cute while you were sleeping... see ya in the next biology class... xoxo'

I start to recall my last moments before dozing off. But I found it unkind of me to fade out like I did, even still, the exhaustion is still present on my body...

The same kind of exhaustion that comes towards me every time I show the dazzling some form of affection...

‘Maybe this wasn't another typical Thursday’

Author's Note

thanks to Nightmare Darkness, for being the proofreader of this chapter.

Chapter 2

Sunday, what a lovely day, the official day to chill out without remorse. I have known that some people dislike Sunday because it tends to be a boring day, and I'm not one to argue with those people because Sundays are without doubt boring. But! At the same time, they are perfect for people like me that have loads and loads of work over the week. For me, this day of the week it's a combination of the three other previous.

I smile as a soft breeze rubs my face, scratching my chin ever so tenderly while the sweet smell of spring travels to my no-

“Achuu!”

Right… pollen, I almost forgot that part of spring amidst my relaxation.

‘What a way to break the mood.’

I stretch myself as much as I can, enjoying the solitude in the bench on which I was sitting. If not by that sudden interruption, I would have forgotten that I was resting in the park.

Not too many people were there actually but the sound of children playing and old men’s conversations stood out because of the mostly empty park. Only a young girl and her dog were in my line of vision, the girl has been petting the dog for more time that I could care to acknowledge. The dog seemed overjoyed as its blissful doggie smile made it seem like this was a special treat for him, or at least that was I could perceive from his lost eyes and heavy panting.

I snapped back to reality as I recall that I had been waiting in this place for quite some time. I rest the back of my head on the bench while my mind starts to drift off.

‘How long has been since I got here? She told me that she will be here before midday...’

As I was lost in my thoughts something clouded my vision, I jumped for a moment at the feeling of two soft hands being pressed against my face.

“Long time no see, Anon,” said the owner of those hands, the beauty of her familiar voice only served to enhance my lazy state.

“It does have been too much actually, six months... It felt like an eternity without you, Cat.” I responded before she uncovered my eyes, letting them see her splendor.

Catherine Bright, my childhood friend, a psychologist that worked in the college for more than three years. My eyes glanced at her smile and the cute freckles adorning her cheeks. A trail of long and bright red hair caught my attention seconds after.

“Last time I saw you, your hair wasn’t that long, I know is rude but I have to ask, did you used extensions on your hair?”

She giggled for a moment before showing a dismissing gesture with her hand. She moved in front of me, letting me look upon her figure: her sleeveless turtleneck sweater and her long skirt work wonders to show her slim body.

I rub the back of my neck to ease the slight pain, a cramp was forming for resting my neck on the wood of the bench. As I ease my pain, she sits beside me.

“Don’t worry Anon, I was as shocked as you when I noticed how long my hair was growing up. The diet and juices of the island in which I took my vacation were the responsible for this.” She explained before grabbing the tail of her hair, “I decided that having a change of look will help me too...”

“Yeah... you know… I was really worried about you when you left.”

…

She stood there, looking to the ground while her hands started to grip her hair with more strength.

“I did not read your messages till I got here a couple of weeks ago...” She looked to the side, I watched at the same direction she was looking and found the pond of water in the park. I glanced at her again, noticing how her eyes were shimmering with the reflection of the water.

“When I read the first message, in which you said that those girls got an eye on you… I started panicking…”

She bites her lips, her eyes turning to me, “Then you started telling me about this weirds ‘presents’ that you gave them-”

“I know! I know! It wasn’t professional. But it helped me get along with them. that kind of approach let me discover their true potential and...”

She looked at me, pouting and furrowed brows. I swallowed my words and stood in silence while she tried to compose her next words without releasing the anger boiling inside her.

“I don’t care about that, Anon!”

‘and~ she failed.’

“You knew that those girls are trouble beyond simple bullying, You should have left the principal to do his job. They could have blackmailed you by this point-”

“But they didn’t!” I refuted, “They had their chances and decided to take none of them. Cat, I know where I was getting when they pointed me as their target, that’s why I looked so desperate in my first message.”

She took a seat beside me and looked me again…

‘Those eyes, those deep brown eyes. It feels like she is reading my soul with every passing second.’

“Anon… why are you so determined to help them?” she asked, not leaving me a second to answer when she added, “I couldn’t believe myself, but each one of your letters showed me how your fears were replaced with vigor. The only thing that remained intact where your doubts.”

She got closer to me, her nose slightly rubbing against mine, “What drives you to help those girls?”

I sigh heavily while she gives me more space to think. that question is hard to answer even for me, not even I know the absolute answer after all.

“With time, I will know how to respond to that question completely. I know that there is something out of my sight that drives me to help them because even when I have been a teacher who dedicates to give the right path to his students, I knew that this ordeal was out of my league from the very beginning.”

I glance at the pond of water, a couple of duck is floating on it, enjoying the refreshing water, the calm scenery helps me remember how this all started.

“It happened some weeks after you quitted, the teacher's lounge was a mess, you were the best one handling the troublesome students” I complimented, followed by a content huff, “Then the whole group remembered the fact that you and I were best friends. they called me out and I ended being the one to reprimand them.”

“How did those three took your words?”

“Jeje… Well, the thing is… I didn’t follow the protocol in that day. You see, usually, in a situation like that, a professor like me should have put a stern face and told them about the consequences of their actions.“

She nudged me, “Yeah, that’s the usual, but you are not exactly usual in your own terms.”

“Yeah...” I said sheepishly while scratching the back of my head, “I couldn’t look at them seriously from the beginning. I felt so bad for them at the moment that I just asked why they were doing that harm to their lives, I said that they were beautiful girls with a great talent in music and it really hurt me how they were throwing their future reputation like that.”

I breathe heavily, ”Maybe it was how I spelled my words, maybe it was my expressions… maybe they looked through me and saw that I was telling the truth… Either way, they changed after hearing me.”

“Changed?” she asked while getting closer to me.

“When they first saw me, I only could notice hate and disgust in their eyes, they depicted me for no apparent reasons. When I opened up to them whatsoever, they changed, their expression showed hope. Like if they had just found an opportunity, some that would care for them...”

“A prey...” I said amidst in my own explanation, clenching my mouth as soon as the words made echo in my head.

“Sorry, what was that?” Catherine asked confused, she heard my words without trouble, that’s what her body expression showed to me.

“I’m sorry, it just part of the things I wanted to tell you about them in the future. But let me finish first.” I asked, earning a nod from her, “After our first talk, they told me that they would get better on their notes, but in compensation, they wanted me as the only teacher that could watch for them in the detention room, that was the first kind of compensation I gave them.”

“I guess it was at that point they started to flirt with you, right?”

I stretch my arms up-front, an audible pop coming from my joints, “No, they just used the time to create songs and take glances at me from time to time. I wish I could know what were they thinking through those first days,” I explained, my words followed by another pop, “Wow, that felt good.”

“So… when did they start looking at you as more than a teacher?”

“I’m getting to that point, let me give you some context first, remember my third email?” I asked her, a smile making itself present on my face.

“Yes I remember, it was a really long one, you took your time explaining me the potential in those girls-”

Without knowing it, my expression started to turn into glee,”Yes, exactly, that was the turning point. My point of view changed when I discovered the girl's hidden talents.”

“And here we go~” She whispered to herself, I heard her words perfectly, but my mouth was running by its own.

“Adagio is an expert on anything related to patterns and also a natural leader, her notes on chemistry and biology, and her record on the art club led me to that conclusion after some tests,” I said, signaling a one towards the air.

“Aria by the other hand has an expertise with logic problems that no one else has shown in the history of the college, there was even a note in her record showing that she was granted a place in various universities for computer science, but she refused all the offers.” I started hearing some coughs coming from Cat, but paid no mind and kept rambling my discoveries.

“Lastly there is Sonata, unfortunately, rumored as the ‘knucklehead’ of the group. If only they knew how brilliant she is on mat-”

A burst of laughs and giggles interrupted my tirade. Catherine’s face is shading lightly red while a single tear escaped her eyes.

“Oh yeah, I already told you that in the message...” I said before joining her in a chuckle.

“Wow, Anon, I haven’t seen you so happy and determined since you discovered that biology was your destiny. It’s almost like those girls are a new kind of creature for you to study.” she laughed some more before giving me a little nudge in my arm, “Now...”

She got back into her serious tone.

“You told me in that email that after that the director was about to transfer those girls. I suppose that the turning point happened there”

I looked up to the sky, the tender shadow of the tree behind us covered my eyes from the harsh shine of the sun, “When the director called them, I had a hunch that something big was about to happen. My hunch was right, the principal was about to send them off to a special institute… well, it sounded more like a prison to me...”

“I suppose that you stepped in and helped those girls stay, right?”

“I won't lie, I was nervous about it at first,” I started watching at the distance, the girl from before was leaving while holding her dog in her arms, ”But I pleaded to the principal to give them a chance to succeed, unluckily for them they had enough merits to repeat the year.” I sighed, “I promised myself that I would do everything in my power to help those girls with her grades and behavior for this year.”

“That’s when they started with the seductive demeanor? I guess you stopped sending me emails because of this, right?”

I nodded to her question, “Eyup, it felt really weird at first, the lost look on Sonata’s eyes, the sudden gropes of Aria… the threatening aura coming from Adagio… I knew how crazy it sounded, and how dangerous could be if someone else knew about this. that’s why I stopped sending emails until I knew that you arrived.”

I paused for a moment while another refreshing breeze blew past us.

“It took me some time to get used to their antics in order to correct them… but…”

I scratch my back, my head hanging low while another sigh made its way out.

“As for now, I just covered her notes, they are making a huge progress in that department since we started with the ‘compensation’ rewards.”

“Then I suppose here is my entry point?” She asked while getting up from her seat with a jump, “Mind if we get an ice cream? My throat is dry after letting you have all the talk” she laughed.

I smile, feeling comfort in her words, she seems to understand me and I can bet that she is gonna help me through this scrappy road.

"Yeah sure."

Catherine told me about her vacations on an island near Puerto Rico as we made our way back to our comfy bench in the park. The sun was still high in the sky, indicating that this Sunday had still much to offer.

"It was a splendid change of routine for me," Cat said before her tone got lower and more concerned, "The only bad thing is how you ended up..."

I signaled to stop with an open hand, "Now, now Cat, is not that bad, don't you worry, just look at me. I'm fine, even though I have sleep issues from time to-"

"Sleep issues?!" She exclaimed, her hand gripping at my shoulder, "What kind of sleep issues?! Nightmares?! Insomnia?! Did they started after you got involved with that trio?!" she asked with wide eyes. I don't know if it was fear or the effect of light, but she looked more pale at that moment.

"Cat, Cat!" I ease her up with a soft tone, petting his head as I used to do when we were little, "It was just exhaustion, I needed to put extra hours on my schedule in order to find a way to help those girls. More than once I used the teacher's lounge to doze off for one or two hours."

Her grip softened until the point she was just laying her hand on my shoulder. Her eyes lost her shine for a second and I noticed that she was shivering.

She never told me why she quitted her job, but it had to do with the Dazzlings that was for sure.

'What kind of thing did they do to you?'

Her eyes were still lost; As if she was witnessing horrors from the past.

"Cat, Catherine!" I snapped my fingers in front of her, then pulling her until the shine in her eyes returned to normal.

"Uh? uh, Anon. Sorry, I was just..." she seemed lost for words for a moment until her eyes focused on me, "You should let those girls in the hands of a professional in the matter."

"What?"

"You already did what you could, and I have to admit that you make a lot of progress, Anon. But it would be better if you find someone else to help those girls."

"I know," I assured her, noticing now that her ice cream was on the ground, she lost the grip on the cone after her breakdown. I gave her my ice cream and continued, "Look, I know that I'm not certified for this job, but I have been the only one on record that has been able to talk to them and make an impact on their behavior. That's why I asked you to help me; At least until they let someone with better experience do the job."

She glances past me, seemingly staring at nothing. She is drifting off again, maybe she isn't ready to answer to my call for help yet.

"Cat, what if we take the rest of the day to ourselves?" I ask, a shine of light coming from her eyes at the hearing of my words, "You can choose to help me later. For now, I just want to enjoy your company like we used to... " I shrug at her, "so~ you want to hang out? There have been some changes around here while you were gone."

She took my hand as an answer, her expression turning once again into joy, "Lead the way then. Let's see what this town did in my absence."

From that point we forgot anything related to our problems and enjoyed the rest of the Sunday, I know that I have a long way to go until the Dazzlings change their ways, but as for now, I'll take my well-earned rest with the company of my best friend. Otherwise, I will only get more exhausted.

Author's Note

Thanks again to Nightmare Darkness for being my proofreader/editor

Chapter 3

“Anon?” a voice called.

“Professor, are you alright?” I heard again, the voice becoming familiar to me. “You have been sleeping for quite a while.” It added before I could go back to my senses.

I woke from my spot, my neck tingling with pain as I rose slowly. I try to look around but there is something glued to my face, it feels soft and smells familiar, just like impressed paper. I open my eyes a second later just to find numbers and black letters covering my vision.

‘Yeap, just as I thought.’

“Ugh… How did I fall asleep?” I ask myself while rubbing the back of my neck. While doing so, the paper glued to my face fell to the ground.

I took a look at my surroundings, my eyes widening in the process just as my mouth followed. “What?!” I gasped before making my way to the nearest window. It was night already, and I was still on the detention room; even worse I wasn’t alone, one of my students was there, her curly hair and bright pink eyes made it easy for me to recognize her.

“Adagio? What are you doing here?!” I ask with a higher tone than what I intended.

She didn’t react to my unusual tone but just glared at me, as if she was trying to find something on my body. “I don’t know for sure what happened, you were talking with us a couple of hours ago,” she started to explain to me while I made my way back to the front of my desk, which was suspiciously empty.

“Then bump, you fell on your desk asleep. I told the others to go home while I watched for you” She finished, her tone of voice turning raspy at the end.

I turned to her after noticing her tone of voice, noticing then her pale skin and how her hands were rubbing her arms, “Good heavens, look at you! You are shaking out from the cold. I’m sorry if I made all of you worry,” I pause; glancing towards the ceiling before thinking out loud,” Ugh... all this feels weird, I can even remember how I got in the detention room in the first place…”

“Your work must be getting really heavy; finals are at the corner of the month after all,” She said in a soft tone, her body still trembling from the cold.

I stood there, my hand rubbing my temple, there were weird things in this whole situation, but my mind could only focus on the young girl’s health and how I could get us out of here.

‘Well, that is, if we can leave without anyone else knowing that we were trapped by the start. The last thing I want is people making rumors out of this…’

I look at the window again, ‘Now, how do we leave the institute? We can use the windows to go outside, that is the easy part. But I don’t have the keys to the main entrance...’

I try to move my hands and stretch myself, ‘I’m too sore… in my current condition trying to go over the walls will be a lost cause. Maybe a phone call will be the bes-’

I found a pair of pink eyes near my chin, I recoil a little from them until I get myself cornered with the desk at my back.

“Are you okay Anon?” Adagio asked me with puppy eyes, “You really look concerned.”

“Ugh…Adagio… don’t give me the puppy eyes. I don’t know what are you trying to do, but right now I don’t have time for your games. My top priority right now is that you don’t get sick out of this cold” I explain to her while my hands pat my pockets.

‘Even if we can pass the main gate, we still have a long distance to travel. I’ll have to drive us-’

“Huh? Where is my phone? And the keys to my car, and my wallet…” I pause, my eyes staring at the young mistress in front of me. She is taking off her pink blouse.

“Adagio what on earth are you doing?!” I hushed to her. “This is not the time for your games; you are going to get ill.”

She arched a brow at me, her expression turning into a seductive one seconds later, “Come on honey, we are all alone and no one will hear us. Why you don’t make a good use of your caring attitude and help heat my cold with that body of yours?”

She raised her hands, exposing her curvy body to me. Her wide hips were usually covered by the wide blouses she uses. Not going to lie, this wasn’t the first time I saw them, but no sneak peek or flash could be compared to the seamstress like figure I was witnessing in full detail.

I took a huge breath, my thoughts going back on track as my eyes diverged from the view, “Not going to happen Dazzle, just help me out with-” I stop bluntly after the corner of my eye caught a glimpse of Adagio trying to take her brassiere off.

“Adagio, don’t!” I rush at her, my hand restraining her arm by instinct, “make yourself a favor and stop thi- auch!” I exclaimed before noticing that my arms were now the ones being held.

‘I forgot how strong these girls are’

“Mhm, I love it,” She took my hand and made it rest on her soft cheek, “You have the perfect chance to take me, knowing that I will say nothing and just enjoy it as much as you could, but instead of doing it you keep your desires locked for the good sake of your dear student” she said in a ragged tone. I could swear that her eyes were shimmering like a candlelight while her hands strengthen the grip.

“Adagio your hands, you are going to break my bones…” I pleaded, my hand’s insides cracking just a second later as if it wanted to add something to the conversation.

She didn’t respond with words but actions, she gripped my neck with her free hand and guided me further into my desk. I sat on it unconsciously while trying to get out from her hold. She took the chance and sat on my legs before releasing me.

“Ugh… that hurts… ” I coughed, my eyes shut by instinct, “I forgot why no one else tried to pick on you girls. Your strength is something unnatural.” I said while trying to recompose from the pain before a pair of arms went around my neck, I opened my eyes only to find myself nose to nose with the youth’s perverted grin.

“Adagio…” I start slowly. She was panting, a wicked smile plastered on her face. “I need you to calm down…”

As if my words were sent into oblivion, she started rubbing her chest against mine. I slowly moved my hands to her waist, attempting to take a hold of her and move her.

She shivered from head to toe once my hands touched her bare skin, her chest now clenching against mine, ‘Great, now I make it worse.’

“Anon~” she cooed, the red that now shaded her cheeks only made her face look more desperate.

The situation was just getting worse, and so were my nerves.

‘This is getting out of hands,’ I thought while trying to dismiss Adagio’s grinding “maybe I should be more assertive against her…”

I took a firm pose before glaring at her, “Adagio dazzle!” I exclaimed in a stern tone.

…

She gripped her legs around my waist; the hinting pain around my waist only showing the humongous difference in strength between her legs and her arms. To top it off, her new restraining position made her crotch laid over mine.

“Is not use!” She reprimanded me before tightening herself around me, “You can use that tone with the others but it won’t work with me.”

‘Bad idea…that was a really bad idea…’ I pant internally. The pain induced by her grip made me incapable to breathe properly.

“Seems like my poor little Anon can’t breathe,” She said before pulling my head near her, her nose rubbing against mine, “Maybe the lack of air will help you lose yourself a little.”

My vision started to get foggy. I grasped my way into taking another breath but truth was that my body was wearing out of oxygen.

“Adagio, this is plain wrong. Hear me o- agh!” she tightened once again. I close my eyes as my hearing sense fades; the only thing keeping me awake is my spine and waist screaming at me, pleading me to agree with her.

“Stop talking… your mouth has better uses than that.”

I nod at her while the last amount of air in my lungs fades. Luckily for me, she eases her grip, giving me a chance to breathe again.

“Thank goodness!” I exclaim breathlessly before filling my lungs with fresh air.

Adagio took the chance to narrow the distance between our lips while I was recovering. The feel of her warm breath colliding with my own every time we exhale. I tried to look at her, finding two fiery red crystals in the shape of iris glaring at me.

her breathing got more erratic as my eyes stared entangled at the shining red crystals, each exhalation more ragged and warm than the previous one; to the point her exhales started to sound more like moans.

‘I don’t like where this is going...’

“Adagio…” I pant, my throat felt like it was burning but I needed to stop her as soon as possible, “We ca-” I got interrupted by the sudden intervention of a pair of lips. Her pair of lips.

“Mngh! Mnnngh!”

She took me from the back of my head, holding me neatly while her tongue slithered her way inside my mouth.

“Ada-mngh! St-” I tried to compose words, but her constant attacks made it impossible for me.

She kept rushing in, lost in the moment and pleasure. Her frenzy attack started to take effect on my wasted lungs soon after, making it hard for me to fight back, the idea of her strong legs trying to break me in half again wasn’t helping either.

I let my arms fall and succumbed to her; there was nothing I could do to end this peacefully. The only way out of this compromising situation was through force, but I was too tired at the moment to pull a fight.

As I start to relax and rest my consciousness started to fade, the only thing left for me was the after-effects of the adrenaline that started to swell inside me.

‘Well, she almost breaks me in half a moment ago, no surprise my own body thought I was dying’

The effects started to enhance my senses as my consciousness blurred. My focus got entangled with the sounds around me, more specifically the ones coming from Adagio: Her breath was raspy and warm, yet the most remarkable thing of it was the speed, it felt desperate... just like.

‘Her eyes…’ I thought while focusing on those pristine garnets. Her eyes have a shine that captivates me. Beautiful, yet intimidating, like a puma looking at its next feast. And the way in which she glares at me, focused in my soul but lost in the pleasure, it makes me wonder if she is really a human. The more I lost myself in them, the more I got back to my studies on mythology.

‘A nymph, or maybe a fairy? What about the succubus? What kind of creature could bare that kind of eyes?’

While lost in my thoughts, another one of my senses came back, letting me acknowledge the presence of the intruder inside my mouth, it was relentless, determined, and just like the other things that I perceived earlier with my previous senses… desperate.

Her tongue was moving erratically, going left and right while she tasted my whole mouth... She huffed and moaned inside me, her lips were soft and covered with droll, but the kiss was rough nonetheless. It felt like being eaten from the mouth, she munched my lips and tongue as if they were ice cream too cold to use her teeth.

I would have like to know how much time passed while my brain processed with detail each aspect of the forced make-out session. But while trying to do so my sense of touch made me notice another important detail, my student was grinding her crotch against mine the whole time. To be more precise, she was grinding against my erect virile member; action who woke me instantaneously from my dazzled state.

‘You should be asleep like my brain was seconds ago! Go back to sleep!’ I shouted in a vain attempt to reprimand my dick, snapping myself while doing so, ‘Wait, I can think properly again!’

Adagio soon released me from the sloppy kiss, in order to take a moment to breathe. “Now that’s what I wanted from your mouth… just…” she panted, her hips still moving back and forward, “ just stop…”

Her back started to arch, I could feel how her moist area was pushing and grinding with more force against me with each rub.

“S-stop whining and use it for a good cause… oh… goddess… ”

She was increasing her tempo, her legs tightening once again while my brain tried to think.

‘What should I do?’

“Anon~”

‘Should I stop her now? Or better wait till she ends and the-’ my thoughts got interrupted by the throbbing sensation of a known traitor, ‘not going to let you enjoy this, you filthy traitor! The first option is it.’

I took the chance and pushed her while she was lost in her own coming climax; she went backward, almost falling to the ground before using her grip on my waist to recover.

“What the fuck are you trying to do?!” she exclaimed, her eyes now shimmering with wrath instead of lust. She wasted no time in getting up again and hug me, her arms tightening around my ribcage.

“Ugh… enough… I’m going to break free, even if I get my ribs broken in the process,” I said unamused, my posture firm as I started pushing her out.

“No,” she said bluntly, her arms and legs tightening around my body, “we are not done yet.”

“This is wrong, Adagio, and you know it well,” I said before taking a huge breath to endure the pain to come.

And so we started fighting against each other, each shove from me just added more strength to the grip of the young lady.

“Stop!” she yelled. Unfortunately. her shouts went to deaf ears, the only thing I could hear where my bones cracking.

If looked as a competition about who is more powerful, each one of the Dazzlings will win against me without effort.

“You are going… to love me…”

But they have a weakness, something that only I can achieve.

“Love… me…” she said before falling into my chest.

Adagio stopped fighting, the shine in her eyes was gone, and her breathing became slow and almost unnoticeable. She was still conscious but not moving whatsoever.

‘It’s always like this after a tough fight, though this is the first time I get seriously hurt…’ I look at her, a feeling of void swelling inside my heart. ’Once like this, they seem to go into a trance in which they lose their willingness.’

I place her on the desk slowly, a pain in my left side tingling while doing so. “Dear heavens I didn’t want this to end like this… It feels like I just broke something inside your head…” I said while looking at her, “I swear I will find what on earth is happening to you three. And help you all afterward if I can” I add before another hint of pain cursed through my body.

I try to stretch my joints in search of any serious damage.

‘Hopefully, nothing is- Ahg! That hurts! Uff…Ok, ok, a broken rib… I have: a broken rib, a reason to lie to my next doctor and a partial clean consciousness; I can live with that.’

I glance at Adagio after recovering from the pain, ‘Better grab her blouse and cover her until I get a way to get us out of here…’ I thought while looking at her skin glistening with the light of the moon.

As the situation calms, my ears start to prick with the sound of silence from the night. Is the kind of silence that surrounds you, breaking and muting everything else.

‘Is the same kind of silence that occurred when this happened the first time with Sonata. It feels so weird, it reminds me of old times from my childhood: When the pressure of the guilt dumbed my senses after doing something wrong.’

‘I need to know what happened to these girls,’ I thought while making my way to Adagio’s attire.

‘Picking that pink blouse from the ground in my current state is going to be a challenge,’ I thought with a grunt.

‘They must have endured something terrible. The way they crave for love is…’ I thought while my hands reach down.

My body starts to moves down, following my stretching arm. The sight from my point of view to the ground starts to look astonishing far as my hand keeps going further away.

After a couple of seconds, my whole arm looks like it was enlarged in a cartoonish way, I dismiss it; thinking is just an effect of the fatigue.

‘Is…’

…

‘Huh? What was I doing earlier?’

‘I was… why I am?’

‘Freefalling?’

A huge pink field is below me, I can feel the wind running through my body as I fall to the ground. It’s relaxing yet somewhat scary, a part of me wants to yell out while the other, the current me, is dozing off with the chanting music traveling through the wind.

It’s so pleasant, like a soft whisper…

But… it also feels warm, comfortable, refreshing… It drives me off like a lullaby will do to a child.

I’m getting closer to the ground but my expression doesn’t change whatsoever. I pay no mind to my apparent end; the only thing clouding my thoughts is the delightful chants, chants made by angels who stay by my side throughout my journey to the beautiful pink ground. I wish I could witness the beauty of those singing angels.

‘Now to think of it, their voices are quite familiar though.’

‘Aria?’

‘Sonata?!’

I wake up in my bed seconds before hitting the ground, panting heavily as if my lungs were out of air for a considerable time.

“It… It was a dream?” I ask myself, before snapping at my night stand and the alarm clock, “And is just one of the morning?! God damn it!” I yell in exasperation before making my way out of the room.

‘I will need to take something to ease me up before going to sleep again.’ I thought while making my way clumsily through the house.

Once in the kitchen, I take a bag of tea and dispose myself to prepare it, noticing just in time that I was about to pour the water into the flame.”

“Whoops, that was a close one…” I paused in order to compose myself and give some time to my eyes to adapt, “Now, where I left the kettle?”

While I search for the kettle my mind goes back to the dream. ‘That was a weird dream… the wind… it felt so real…’ I rub my ribs and back, a painful memories making echo in reality, “Huh? What was that about? I could swear I had a broken rib or something…”

While inspecting my back, I find that the kettle was placed in the middle of the table of the kitchen. I take the kettle and start to clean it while my head goes back to its previous tracks.

‘But… it doesn’t make any sense, I can remember the pain on my bones perfectly but I never got hurt by anything inside that dream’ I rub the back of my neck, sighing heavily a moment later, ‘You are tired Anon that is all…’

I pour the water into the kettle and start to prepare everything, noticing later that I made too much for a single cup. The sweet smell of the drink clouded my worries a second later.

“Mhm, sweet,” I take another long sniff, my thoughts still clouded with more questions: what were Aria and Sonata doing in there? Maybe the dream tried to tell me something important? What happened before that made me feel like a rollercoaster traveled on my back?

I breathed heavily, ‘Anon, it was just a dream. Just move on; you can’t waste your energy on a dream while the Dazzlings need you… Well, there are the exams for next week too but that is just kids play…’ I take a long sip of the tea, humming with gusto as the tasty liquid traveled down my throat.

After finishing my cup of tea, I put the kettle in the fridge, my legs started to move on their own soon after while my head dozed once again. In less time than I could acknowledge, I reached my bed and disposed myself to sleep.

Hopefully, with Catherine’s help I will solve things out with the Dazzlings, and all this stress and fatigue will go.

Author's Note

I didn't have the help of an editor this time. Dont worry though, I will search for one while making the next chapter.

see you next week :twilightsmile:

chapter 4

Monday, 1 PM

It has been an uneventful day, just like most Mondays. I can’t help but find it funny how it seems like there is an aura of laziness surrounding every student like there was an outside force or entity given them reasons to hate this day.

As I walk through the institute’s hall and library I see few of the promising students reading books and taking notes.

They are not here…. Well, it will be weird to find them inside here studying. I’m good at my job but not that good.

I turn towards the exit. The sweet smell of spring filling my lungs as I open the main doors of the building. The fact that the institute is surrounded by woods make it pretty easy to the season to outstand itself. The only bad part is that the place gets really steamy in summer.

I shook my head, pulling myself back to reality as my eyes glance down below. A stray line of concrete makes the path to the entrance of the institute. Every four or three feet has a bifurcation that leads to a perfect circle. Clear areas with grass for the student to rest lay on said circles. The shape is reminiscent of the one made by the water of a fountain.

I look at the students resting on the ground. Some are playing, others are chatting; there are at least five of them sleeping.

They aren’t here either, I thought while making my way to the back of the building. From the corner of my eyes, I see one of my students running towards me.

“Professor, good afternoon,” he greeted.

“Good afternoon to you too, Streak. Something I can help you with?” I answer with a casual tone.

“Well, you looked like you were searching for someone.”

I smile at the young man, Damian Streak, a cheerful student filled with energy and always ready to help, “Yes I am, Damian, I’m looking for the Dazzlings sisters. Have you seem them?”

Damian expression went from happy to uncomfortable in the blink of an eye. The sight disgusted me, but I knew that the girls have done more than enough to achieve that kind of expression upon others.

“They usually use this hour to go to the back section of the woods… Most students, including me… have been told by the trio to stay away while they use the place,” he took a pause to scratch the back of his head. “No one took their words seriously until a group of brutes from the football team tried to go there and ‘show them who was the boss’ last year…”

“Oh, yeah… there were a lot of broken bones that day. Now I understand why no one from the group said anything about their injuries,” I commented before glancing back at Damian, “they were too proud of themselves to tell the professors that three girls were able to beat them.”

Streak laughed, his snickers breaking into a sigh just before the shine in his eyes dimmed. “Can I know why you want to find them?” He asked me, his expression was calm but it definitely hid something.

“They have to submit a project in three days and I want to know about their progress” I responded bluntly.

Damian looked at me intrigued, the absence of light in his eyes now clear to me: he was sad. I dismissed him and kept on my way towards the back of the building.

“Just try to not get yourself hurt! Most of my friends miss lady Catherine, and we don’t want the same happening to you...” he said to me, his feelings now clear as water.

“Don’t worry, they won’t hurt me… I hope” I added, the last words coming in the form of a chuckling whisper.

The section of the woods from the back of the building has an odd appearance if you compare it with the rest of the area. It’s denser, hence its darkness and grimly appearance. My common sense was the only thing keeping my fears away, telling me that it was just afternoon, that the area in which I stood was free of dangerous animals because there is a checkup made by the guards in each even day.

The hideous looking surroundings and the cold breeze that came from within the darkest places of the forest didn’t help though.

After a couple of minutes my anxiety got dismissed at the sight of Aria’s back, she was resting in a tree not so far from my position.

Cat’s words from yesterday played back inside my head while narrowing my distance to the sleeping lady.

Try to make them accustomed to you, you need them to be more open to you in public. That will never happen in their comfort zone, or in this case, the detention room.

After half a minute, I reach Aria… and Adagio… and Sonata too. Oddly enough they are sleeping in the same tree, a weird occurrence since they usually have a lot of energy. I stare at each one while my head thinks of a possible reason behind their exhaustion: maybe they work on the weekends? Perhaps they went to a party? Did sonata convince them to stay all night playing videogames?

She told me last week of a new ga- I stop in mid-thought. I didn’t realize at first because of the darkness of the woods: Adagio, she was pale, and her eyes were clearly showing her deprivation of sleep.

Should I wake them up? I asked myself while looking at her sisters, they both looked in need of sleep too. I can bet this three didn’t take notes in their classes today…

“A…non?” Sonata muttered, I shifted slightly after hearing her whisper. She looked mild unconscious, almost like...

“No…” she looked at her surroundings slowly before adding: “forest… dream…” she smiled at me, her eyes shining enough to be misjudged by rubies inside a cave. There was no doubt, she was just still dreaming, “want…”

“Want?” I asked to deaf ears. The young lady crawled to me slowly as a response.

“Anon, you sweet creature that was brought to us by gods whose powers are beyond our comprehension, what are you doing alone in this dangerous forest?” She said with half-lidded eyes, “What drove you to come here? Don’t you fear my dear love, I will protect you from the fiery beasts that lures within this pandemonium.”

… I stood agape at her choices of words, dumbfounded at the drastic change of vocabulary in the young lady while sleepwalking.

Maybe I should put sonata in the poetry club… no, no, too sudden for that. Books, I need to give her some books first… but wait, what kind of books could be the best for her? I thought at first before drifting off to the possibilities.

She kept her steady pace towards me. It took me half a minute to pull my thoughts back to reality. I snapped down, fearing the worst to happen as I looked how close she was to grab me with those apparently weak hands; she would have captured me in that exact moment, if not by mere luck. Lady’s fortune was apparently by my side this time because Sonata faded into sleep again just before her hand could even touch me. Her body collapsed in a rather compromising posture afterward… to be more precise her back stood hanging in the air while the higher section of her body rested on the ground.

I hum in delight, the warm feeling of being safe drenching my whole body for a brief second. As I recompose myself, my mind goes back to its previous thoughts as my eyes glance once again towards Adagio, her moribund state now clearer to my dilated pupils.

I need to take her to the infirmary.

I move past Sonata and her butt hanging in the air, dismissing Aria’s snoring as I kneel in front of Adagio, her breath was so dim and silent that it made my hands rush towards her chest.

She is breathing… thank goodness I moan in relief.

… It was at that moment that I realize another feeling, one that didn’t come from her but me: Fear. I stood for what it seemed like eons as I tried to understand what the reason behind that fear was. My hand was in the middle of her chest, I wasn’t touching anything that could compromise me or my relationship with Adagio as my student.

There are no animals or insects tha- ahg! Scratch that. Concentrate for a moment, Anon!

… My hand slowly recoiled back, air condensing around me as my mind found peace again.

Stress the words erupted inside my head, it’s just stress, Anon. Just like today’s dream.

It felt like an outside thought; a hit of wisdom that figuratively knocked me into reality.

I dismissed whatever that fear from earlier was and placed Adagio on my back, her body lighter than what I first thought. I turned swiftly towards the institute direction and started to jog towards it.

As I run through the forest I feel my senses enhancing.

Dreams? What kind of dreams!? The words from Catherine playback as a distant echo inside my head. Those girls are dangerous, Anon.

I shook my head from side to side as I run past her words, past the creeping feeling of fear surrounding my back, past the exhaustion of my body.

“Don’t worry Adagio, I’ll take you to the med, just hang in there.”

The door of the infirmary was finally in front of me, I took the knob as soon as my lungs were filled once again. “Good morning, Dust! Are you there?” I said in a raspy tone while entering the room.

The place seemed empty at first, the only thing on the right side of the room were Jane’s utensils and papers neatly organized in her desk. At my left a bed was placed, light trespassing the curtains beside it and resting on the seemingly soft mattress.

Wasting no more time, I moved the curtains to the side and placed Adagio on the bed with care.

…

I stood bewildered at the resting figure of Adagio, who was now peacefully sleeping. I was expecting a pale and sick young lady. But there she was, not just fine but even better, her skin looked soft and colored, filled with more life than a puppy playing with his toy. Her breathing was normal again and light snores could be heard from her mouth.

“Did the darkness of the forest fooled me?” I ask myself, my tone higher enough to disturb the pleasant dream of Adagio.

“Ugh, sorry, I didn’t want to wake you,” I pause for a moment to look at her more closely, noticing in the process how everything around us feels normal again, the fears from before just a distant memory now.

“Why I am in the nursing room?” She asked me, her eyes hiding from the light of the room.

As she questions me a sudden thought courses through my mind: it was uncommon for her or her friends to go to the institute while ill or tired. “I carried you here after finding you in the woods at the back of the institute,” I answer after noticing her intriguing expression.

“So you carried me all the way here?” She smiled coyly her eyes lost in her fingernails, “Now I understand why I had such a wonderful dream.”

Remember, you need to be more proactive with them. Try to make things around them more normal. For what have you’ve told me, Adagio and Aria are the ones who like to tease you. Cat’s words echoed in my mind, making me care less about Adagio’s flirts.

“I thought you were sick at first, but after bringing you here, am starting to doubt of my own perception.”

“I was just tired that is all,” She answered me, a faint yawn escaping her mouth while moving a pair of tendrils of her hair that rested near her left eye.

“Well, if that’s the case then I’m really happy to see you here,” I smiled at her, “it shows that you respect the compromise with your studies. Even still, I’m curious about your health…”

She flashed a toothy grin, her eyes turning to the wall at her right, “This is the only place in which I can see that butt of yours. Don’t think we are doing this for the sake of the institute.”

I noticed then how her eyes avoided me as her hands gripped around her ponytail.

“We just got a heavy night that is all…” she added

I took a look at the clock in the center of the wall, which featured “1:24 PM”.

“I still have some time before my next class starts,” I commented before approaching the bed in order to sit beside Adagio.

… Huh?

Did I…?

Blur fills my vision as I recover from an apparent fading. I can feel something soft against my back.

“Anon? … Is everything alright?”

A cold chill crawls swiftly as a snake all the way up my spine. My body arching up as I stood on my feet once again. My consciousness comes back a second later.

“That was weird,” Adagio scrunched her expression. I can’t say for sure where I landed, but just looking at how tense she looks now is enough for a bad signal.

I wanted to apologize for my sudden actions but found no strength to do it. To be honest I couldn’t even stand still properly. I sat on the nurse’s chair and took a moment to rest.

“I think you are the one who needs the bed.” Adagio brows furrowing, her hands still gripping her ponytail.

I took a couple more of slow breathes before returning to my previous thought. “Maybe I just overdid myself while running her... or… I don’t know, I have been in a bad strike, getting more tired after each week even when I sleep more frequently.”

Adagio just nodded at my words, her eyes looking in my direction, but it seemed like she was lost in other things.

Maybe I could make something out of this. Cat told me to try to open them up to me.

“You seem concerned about something… you want to talk about it?”

“hmm… Well, I was thinking about something, but I need to confirm it. Anon would you pat my head?”

Pat her head? I looked at her surprised.

“Don’t overreact I just want to confirm something.”

I looked at her with narrowed eyes. My hand fidgeting as I stood doubtful about my student’s intentions.

“Alright,” I respond after a pair of seconds, “but you will have to tell me what is this all about later.” I proposed before stretching my arm towards her.

I laid my hand on her forehead and proceeded to rub tenderly from there to the center of her head. While doing so her eyes drifted to the ceiling.

She looks so focused… what will she be thinking about? Her past? The things she has done? What if she is thinking about her future? …My thoughts runs freely as I look at her body expressions, most importantly, how her previous tense body relaxed, her breath becoming calmer and slower.

After a couple more of rubs, I started to feel warmth emanating from her head. Soon after, she smiled, her eyes now locked on mines. A dim flame faded inside me just as my worries about the young lady were dismissed.

That flame, however, was brought to life once again after a sudden thought arrived. Panic, swelling the fire inside me as I asked:

“Is that enough?” my eyes avoid hers. I tried to play it cool as hard as I could but the constant fear that someone will get inside the room and see us was not helping.

“Maybe~,” she said before holding my now trembling hand against her cheek.

“Adagi-” I stammered before watching in awe how she opened her mouth.

“ahm~” she munched my index finger playfully.

“Adagio, sto-”

The door of the room swung open, the institute’s nurse making her entrance with phone at hand.

“I’ve told you already! The fact that I’m a nurse and that we have a lot of medicine in the house doesn’t mean that you can receipt our kids by your own!” she shouted at the phone, before her brown fiery eyes glared at me.

Crap, crap, crap! I repeated in my head, my mind too occupied with the shock to care about the future explanation I’ll need to give her once she looks that my hand is…

My hand is… on my leg? What in- I look briefly to Adagio; she is looking at the folded curtains in a rather disparaging way.

“I’ll call you later.” Her phone made a clicking sound, “Sorry, I go wild when my husband does stupid things… which happens to be something usual for him.” She commented with a hint of anger in her tone.

“Uh…” I got stuck for a second, “D-don’t worry about it.”

She furrowed her brows at me, “You look weird today P.A. Have you been sleeping well?” She didn’t let me answer the question as she followed with: “Oversleeping would be more precise in your case. All the workers know about your sleep escapades during lunch time.”

I nodded sheepishly, “Well now that you said it, maybe I need a checkup. I have been struggling against exhaustion long enough to get stressed about it.”

“Well, I can list you the tests you need to take and the things you need to check on your blood…” she said while taking her notebook and pencil from her lab coat “or~” she glanced at me with a familiar shine on her eyes.

I raised both hands at her in anticipation. “Not going to happen, Jane.”

“Come on! It has been ages since I have used a syringe! It feels like this place is ill proof or something.”

“That just makes it easier to me to say no.” I stated, her face turning into a pleading pout, “Sorry, the puppy eyes don’t work with me.”

“Unless you are Sonata~” Adagio whispered loud enough for me to hear. I stood silently to her words while looking how Jane listed everything up.

“Mhm!” She huffed before handling me the finished list, her expression turning stern a second later.

“Come on~ don’t be like that,” I prayed, she didn’t respond but started to go outside the room, “Why are you-”

“I left my coffee at the teacher’s lounge!” she rambled on her way out.

… And now I was alone with Adagio again. My mind stuck while processing what just had happened and what I was doing earlier at the same time.

Adagio got my attention with a wink, “Don’t worry, Anon, you can count on us to take care of you if anything happens,” she bitted her lower lip, her eyes half-lidded as she added, “I’ll make sure to feed you properly.”

Seems like she is back to her normal “seductive seamstress” self… I thought before I recalled the original purpose of my visit to the nursing room.

“I forgot to tell her to check you up… argh, stupid head of mine!” I pointed out, my body reflexes face-palming me a second later. “Well, we just need to wait for…” I pause, my peripheral vision spotting Adagio legs crossing in a rather slow motion.

“Don’t you worry, I just needed to rest for a moment,” she paused, her legs moving once again but I didn’t care for it this time. The thing that really hooked me up was her eyes: shimmering like the usual predator she is known in the institute. “Promise, I’m fine. You on the other hand…” she added, her words pulling me back from my stupor just to find her playful hand signaling me to go to the bed.

I took a huge breath, my head tilting down just like my self-awareness as the huge amount of oxygen almost makes me blackout. I snap abruptly from my seat, the sight of a now concerned Adagio covering my vision.

“I don’t like to see you like this Anon,” she commented, her sight on the floor as her hands grips her ponytail, her mouth mustering something uncompressible for my actual mental condition.

I gave her a dismissive gesture. “Take it easy, I had been in worse situations. Is just that this is the first time a virus got me unprepared.”

I took a huge breath and dispelled it in the form of a yawn, a smile curving my lips as I glanced at Adagio, “Just don’t make this week too hard for me with your roundabouts.”

She furrowed her brows at my words, “Hm? But then how will we get in the detention room for our weekly meeting?”

I stood in shock for a second, my smile fading as I released another sigh, “you all know that I’m your designated orientation teacher right?” I stated. “You don’t need to put yourselves in trouble to see me.”

“Yes we do know, but the other students won’t see it like that. They will start making rumors about us if they realize that you have a special threat to us,” she explained to me.

Huh? Why is she worried about this? I’m the one on the bad end after all...

“Eh? What’s the problem with that? Most professors make rumors and jokes about me, no big deal.” I explained, using my exhausted stated to sound calmer than usual.

“The problem is that, unlike the students, we know that the professors are not going to try to spy on us! If they find us three seducing you like we always do you will lose your job, reputation and even your title as a professor!” she exclaimed euphorically, her hands gripping her hair hard enough to leave it rustled.

My jaw started to drop slowly as the realization hit me.

Adagio… she… they…

Before I could muster my words, Adagio’s eyes went wide open. She got to her feet and started to move towards the room’s door.

“I almost forgot that the girls are waiting for me!” she shouted while running outside the room.

I stood doumbfounded in my seat. Silence reigning inside the room as a single feeling coursed through me.

Joy

Utter. Solid. Almost tangible joy. The exhaustion and soreness on my body ceased to exist, my brain couldn’t handle that amount of excitement at the same time, or so it seemed; because there I was: on my feet once again. I don't even know how or when, but I was already up and moving again.

“They are actually worried about me… this… this could mean a lot,” I cheered like a priest witnessing a miracle, “maybe it’s true that they still like to tease me around but at least they know the consequences of their actions!” I clapped a fist toward my hand.

I started to move towards the door of the room while my left hand scratched my chin.

“Maybe there is a chance… a future in which they stop their antics and treat me with respect looks promising now… and that will be just the beginning!” I theorized with a joyful tone before opening the door.

“And~ you just gave me another reason to believe in you. He-he,” Jane appeared at the other side of the door. The absence of a cup of coffee on her hands was all the evidence I needed to know that she never went to the teacher’s lounge.

… I stood agape at her. Her puffed chest and warm smile were the only things I could manage to acknowledge before the locked exhaustion from before broke free.

“P.A? Hey” I heard her words but my consciousness was fading, “hey, hey! Professor!”

I couldn’t hear her last words as the world around me started to roll, a loud thud echoed in my head before my mind faded.

Darkness. That was the only thing within my reach. I laid in a seemingly infinite void, a dark pit from which only gravity remained intact, or so it seemed for the perpetual fall I was experiencing.

As I took a moment to comprehend my own situation, the feeling of gravity was scratched from my thoughts. I wasn’t falling, truth is that my body was resting on a solid place, but it felt so light and fragile that every movement, every shift, every breath I took made me feel like someone pulled me with a humongous force in the opposite direction.

“Anon?” I heard a voice inside the dark void, but paid no mind to it, the new sensations provided were proven worth enough to entangle my curiousness.

“Hey, stop fooling around!” the voice shouted with such force that I felt how my body bounced up.

For a brief moment, as I looked how the void in which I laid started to change, I thought that maybe the commanding voice’s owner was the ruler of that realm. Vapor and smoke surrounded my vision before I could wonder about my ascension towards a godlike creature, a dim light rested upon my face soon after.

While my pupils adapt to the light, something makes click inside my thoughts: What if I’m actually dying? As a response, the realm shaped into a tunnel, the light fading for a second before returning in an oval shape.

“It was true… I always thought that ‘the light at the end of the tunnel’ was just a popular believe…”

The distance between me and the light narrows at such speed that a racing car could get dismantled by the G-force alone. With each passing second, the light in front of me transform into a figure which hand was hanging in the air in a menacing manner. A brown lady with matching eyes and red hair: Jane dust.

A loud smack sound made echo inside the room as the pain from the slap pulls me back into reality.

“Argh! Dang it!” I shouted, my body sitting by instinct as my hand started to rub my check; the throbbing pain from that slap seemed to be the cure to my previous dazzled state. The world around me got from dazzled and blurry to clear and detailed in the blink of an eye.

“Now I know why they call it a tunnel… I just got hit by the train on those rails…”

“Good heavens~” Jane moaned, “you scared the crap out of me…”

“Well, at least I wasn’t the only one scared today,” I joked with a toothy smile.

“Seems like a good wack was what you needed,” she joked back.

“If that is your recommendation, maybe a change of doctor is the best choice for me.”

“You still owe me ten bucks for the treatment though.”

We laughed at each other for a solid half minute, the fear and shock from earlier turning into silly jokes and joy.

“Anon, you are one of a kind. Ha-ha” Jane complimented.

“Umh, thanks? That was uncalled though…”

Jane snickered a little more before taking a pause to breathe and replenish her lungs, “I was talking about you and those girls.”

“Oh, that! Of course… Wait, oh dear lord, Jane I-” she rested a finger on my lips.

Dust took my hand and helped me get up, humming and cleaning the dirt from my clothes in the process. Once done, she signaled me to sit on the bed. “Don’t worry about the girls. I just want to tell you a little story.”

Jane was a nurse known to be honest, if she was mad or worried about something she will show it one way or another. Because of it, the fact that she was calm helped my nerves to cool off. But the melancholy showed on her half-lidded eyes was telling another story whatsoever.

Seems like this will be a trip through memory lane.

She took her chair and sat next to the window, making sure that the rays of the sun couldn’t land on her bright red hair before she formed a ball with her hands. I noticed how she played around with her fingers while her sight drifted beyond what was lying outside the room.

“Ten years ago, a cousin of mine told me about a little troublesome girl that attended his school. She had a reputation of being repulsive around everyone that tried to befriend her.” She paused for a moment, “Unlike your case, this girl’s grades were over the top. Her only problem was her reclusive behavior.”

“I suppose that this is where the story starts to look like my case…”

“Hush, in this room I’m the professor,” she reprimanded, her face turning into a smile for a brief moment before returning to its initial point. “He… the professor who started to help her was a friend of my cousin. He had two PhD, one on math and another on physics. He was around thirty-five years ol… and her favorite teacher.”

“Well, the girls are-” I was hushed again, “fine, fine, I’ll be quiet.”

“That’s better. Now, as I was telling you. This man was her first friend, a reliable person whom she trusted and cared deeply. He was able to reform her in less than a year and made her a confident person…”

… Jane stood silent for a moment. Not the usual kind of silent, as her hands, who were holding her own coat tight enough to tear it, showed me

“Something went wrong, right?” I asked when the suspense got the better of me.

“He helped her forget her troubles instead of resolving them… at the beginning it wasn’t a big problem; that was until something… or better say someone, appeared. A past love interest of him. For what I know they parted ways in order to pursue their dreams… somehow destiny found the way to join them again. And the only thing in that moment between them was the girl” Jane paused and looked at me, “I don’t know what things have you endured to this point with those three, but it doesn’t matter, at least they are of age. No one could know how weird it must be to have a teenager doting on you like an adult would,” She paused for a moment to take a breath, “my cousin told me that the girl was severely molested for one of their relatives in the past, maybe she thought that the only way to not losing him was using her own body...” she took a pause and breathed.

“Guess I’m the same kind of guy that the teacher in your story. So… What did he do?”

“You are getting it wrong P.A, you are not like him. You are better than him,” she stated with a firm tone, “He reprimanded and depicted her for her behavior in a barbaric way... I guess he was more worried about his reputation than his student. The little one had the same thought and tried to blackmail him. Luckily for him, his lover was in the same classroom that him at the moment.” Jane released a loud sigh, her hand scratching the back of her head as she continued, “The girl got expelled after trying to trick the school into thinking that her teacher wanted to rape her… last thing I knew… god, this is the hard part…”

“Take your time Dust… I still have half an hour until my class begins,” I assure her, my hands gripping the soft mattress as the tension grew.

“Alright… let’s see… how can I tell you this in the best possible way?” she started to rub her temples, “hmm… argh, forget it I’ll just say it. A couple of months after the incident the police department was called because there were screaming’s at the girl’s house… “

My jaw started to drop slightly as she continued narrating.

“She… they found her in one of her relative’s room. She was lying in the ground… blacked out. A dead body was near her… Don’t want to go in details about how she did it; the point is that she was sent to an asylum after telling to the jury that she killed him in revenge. That guy was the one who molested… and at the end, corrupted her…”

My eyes went wide as my brain tried to process everything I heard. I held my head as an aching pain cursed through it. It was something unbelievable; for a little kid to go that far, she really needed help and attention… something that her most important friend didn’t offer.

“Dear heavens…” I gasped, “I… I don’t know what to say… I-is she okay?”

“That’s a tale for another time.” She said while signaling a finger to pause any other question, “As for now, let me just tell you this. Unlike that professor, you have shown that you are brave and determined. But most importantly, you care about what your profession is all about: guide others to be better, both in knowledge and as respected persons for our society. That’s why I haven’t told anyone about you and the Dazzlings. I had my doubts at first, but seeing how you overworked to this point, plus your reaction from before… man, you almost make me think that I picked the wrong man to betroth me.”

A warm smile plastered on my face, “Thanks for your kindness and trust Jane. I promise you that I will do my best.” I said with glee while getting on my feet.

“No problemo. Just make sure that those girls don’t end up in a mob. They can win against an entire group of guys in motorcycles. I don’t want to know the things they could do if they become criminals.”

“Hm, you knew about that? I thought that information was only on their record.”

“And how do you think that the institution knew about that? I had to help a friend of mine in the hospital because of them. The place was running out of hands after those girls send them there. I lost the count of how many broken bones I saw that day! For goodness sake, those girls are the devil!” she exclaimed with wide eyes.

“That makes me a daredevil then?” I joked while making my way to the door of the room.

“Well, since you have two jobs, you should be the one planning takeouts,” she joked back, “hey, before you leave. Are you sure that you don’t need another wack?”

“I don’t want to take the chance to get an overdose,” I approached the door, a sudden thought prompting to my head as my hand grabbed the knob, “hey Jane. Thanks for telling me that story. I’m sure it will help me out when things get rough.”

“Don’t worry; I have been waiting to tell you everything for a long time. Just give me a call when you want to know the rest of it. Or and anon…”

“Yeah?”

I opened the door and glanced to the hall as she spoke, “I didn’t spy on you and the girls on purpose, it was by accident. But let me be clear about this: I haven’t been able to do it again…” She said, her tone hinting doubt and in someway… fear…

“I have tried time and time again… but… Let’s talk about this whole thing later ok? It gives me the creeps…”

I didn’t need to turn back to know she was shuddering in discomfort, “Sure. Just give me some time while I set everything up for the end of the month. By the way, I’ll keep you informed about my condition once I get a check by the docs. For the meantime, I need to remember today’s lessons for my three sessions. See you later,” I added before leaving the infirmary.

This day has been a rollercoaster of emotions.

I was hoping that Sonata’s new found skills and Adagio’s caring to be the only things to think about today… but… Jane last word…

What did she mean by that?

I haven’t been able to do it again, the words played back in my head.

Author's Note

Sorry for the delay, I had been working on other projects while trying to find an editor for this fic. The bad news is that... I haven't found another editor yet