Maja
She stared unseeingly at the surface of the table. Maja had a job at the same school where her children were studying, the very same place where Melissa Lord was a Deputy Headteacher. Maja herself was a lowly primary school teacher. The job had been made available because James Schwartz had pulled a few strings although he had never said it. Maja knew that the man felt sorry for her but she tried to be cool and not reveal her crazy infatuation for him.
Melissa Lord was now watching Maja in that cool way she had, her head tilted just slightly to the side, green eyes narrowed a little. She was dressed immaculately, in a pale purple pantsuit and sneakers. A fashion statement alright, thought Maja enviously, and the woman had the grace to carry it off with aplomb. Maja absently noted a scarf around her neck, which had slipped to reveal a hickey…
*
Melissa Lord cleared her throat loudly. It was evening, and the kids could be heard making a racket outside as they filtered out of the school building. From her window, Melissa could see the school buses and the handful of cars with the parents who had come to pick up some of the younger children.
As sympathetic as she was to the woman before her, she felt a small rush of irritation. Magnus Nord was a student in the senior classes and Melissa had noticed him because of the way he slouched and avoided eye contact. There had been something insolent and unnerving about the youth with the black curls and the way he leered at the girls.
But catching him red-handed with a handful of Yada pills had made her temper skyrocket through the roof. Colorful and flavored, the deadly pills were the perfect target to attract younger kids, this Madness pill as it was called. And the damage it would create…
Melissa ground her teeth to stop from reaching out to shake the shoulders of the woman who was now sitting, half slumped on the chair before her.
Maja Nord had first tried to defend her no-good son, saying spiritedly,
No, Magnus would not do such a thing; he was going through a bad phase; he was a good boy at heart…’
But Melissa had cut her short with the camera feed. That had drained away Maja’s gutsy denials and she had sat, shattered as Melissa told her in detail, what the pills were called and why.
*
Melissa recalled what her colleagues had said about the teenager a few days ago. Not at all a nice piece of work, commented Beth Friday, the English teacher, who had been here at the school for a long while. And as for peddling drugs within the school campus; sorry, that was just not on, not on Melissa’s watch anyway. She squared her shoulders and tapped her pen on the table again, to rouse the woman before her who seemed to have taken a body blow, from the blank way she was staring at Melissa.
‘What… I mean…’ stuttered Maja finally, the impatience of the blonde woman before her making her feel miserable.
‘What?’ snapped Melissa, who had other parents to meet as well.
Melissa’s youngest child was not keeping too well and Mrs. Hutton who came in to help during the day had called to tell her that little Mitzi, Melissa’s daughter, was suffering from a fever. The child had not gone to school that day and Melisa could not help fretting.
She forced herself to look at Maja Nord, trying to squeeze some iota of sympathy but the Magnus Nords of this world, she had discovered, were selfish little pricks who would not hesitate to drug their own siblings if it was suitable for them.
Maja stared at her dully and whispered,
“What do you want me to do?’
Exasperated, Melissa began, ‘Mrs. Nord, ‘ but Maja flared up and said,
‘Not Mrs anymore. Call me Ms. Nord.’ Melisa frowned and went on,
‘Ms. Nord, your son will face a suspension and will also …’
Maja seemed to have stopped listening. She had failed as a mother, she thought and stood up abruptly. Melissa stared at her for she was still speaking.
‘I am sorry, I understand. I have got to go,’ Maja heard herself blabbering as she turned and rushed out. The strap of her old, well-worn shoulder bag caught on the side of the chair and she almost fell. But she managed to jerk it off violently and fled. Melissa stared after her in a mixture of irritation and pity.
Outside the school, Maja headed straight to her small car and got inside. The world was white, the grounds covered in snow. Many of the kids were bundled up in warm clothes and standing about. She put her head down on the steering wheel and wept.
Maja Nord had never felt so alone in her life.
*
Lucien
He wiped the sweat off his face and stood, his heart hammering. He had been training steadily, under the guidance of his old trainer for weeks now, in fact, ever since his Woman and the youngest baby were safely installed in the house. He had not told Proserpina about his intention to inaugurate the Big Fight himself, by entering the ring although he had already zeroed in upon an opponent and had been training for days now.
He also knew that she would be adamant. Would do all she could to convince him otherwise. But as his trainer told him, admiringly,
‘For a man of your age, Boss, you fight really good.’
Lucien had turned to him and the older man had chuckled. They knew each other well, the trainer, Iron Fist Ian, as he had been called in his prime, was not one to be intimidated by Lucien Delano. He had been one of Lucien’s buddies in the early days of gun-running. Lucien smiled too, a quirking of his thin lips.
As he pounded the bag again, his thoughts inadvertently went to his Woman.
*
It was hell, pure hell, lusting after her and seeing her move around in the house, her wide hips swaying, the full breasts thrust out, her body seductive, a siren’s body, as she went about her work: the dimpled smile she sent him only made him grit his teeth in frustration.
Because he wanted to f*ck her so badly, it was as if he was going about with a permanent erection when he was near her. He pleasured himself with his large fist at night, every night for he did not want to hurt her, not after the surgery, not so soon.
But f*ck, he wanted her under him, in his bed.
Wanted to hear her moan and gasp, wanted to sink his teeth into those generous breasts, see the marks he left on her white bosom, take her nipples…he groaned and hit the bag so hard, Iron fist Ian turned to look at him warningly.
Suddenly, the older man grinned.
He knew about Lucien’s sexual overdrive and he had guessed at the reason behind his anger. He had been one of the people who had marveled at the way the Boss could move from one woman to another almost as soon as he had kicked out one wh*re from his bed to plunge his c*ck into another.
And he had heard of how the Boss was now totally under the spell of the woman who was twenty years younger than him, his wife, of all things; and how they already had many children…and from the looks of it, thought Ian as he scratched his beard speculatively, that was one woman who would be carrying the Boss’s babe soon.
Wisely, he kept his counsel but now he grinned again as he said,
“Little Lady keeping you out of her bed, huh?’
Lucien scowled and pounded the bag with all his might, sending it crashing to the floor.