After a week
"Aaliyah Gold, wake up, will you? Seriously. You need to stop treating the school like your personal sleeping place," Ashton shook her gently, and Aaliyah crinkled her brows before opening her eyes gently, the chatter of the students around her entering her mind.
“Damn, why is it so loud?” Aaliyah groaned before sighing.
"By the way, did you hear that we are going to have a new teacher for English? I heard he is super hot. And Ashton is right, Aaliyah. Not all teachers are going to be lenient with you. Stop zoning out before you get into a deeper sh*t," Momo gushed, and Aaliyah rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, yeah. The new teacher is coming today, no?" Aaliyah deliberately changed the subject, and Momo nodded before starting about what rumors she had heard about him while Aaliyah doodled on her notebook mindlessly.
"And Sasha said he is Russian. I always had a thing for Russian men, and to top that, some people say he is from a gang," Momo beamed, and Aaliyah paused in her actions before her gaze met with Ashton, who shook his head gently as if telling her not to worry about it.
“Aren’t all Russian men rumored to be from a gang?”David scoffed, jealousy evident in his words, and Aaliyah closed her eyes again.
“Aaliyah Gold! You better not sleep again,” Momo screamed in her ears, and Aaliyah winced before smacking her head in annoyance.
"You guys know that I don't do it purposefully. This gossip doesn't interest me. About studies, I want to follow my father's path, and excelling in these subjects isn't exactly a necessity. Besides, am I not a topper already?" Aaliyah grinned, and David scoffed before smacking her head.
"Oww, what was that for?" She scowled.
"Does your mother even approve of your ideas that you are thinking of following your father's path? With your grades, she would be damned if she didn't turn you into a doctor like herself or a lawyer. Only a fool will choose your father’s path," David mused, followed by Ashton, and Aaliyah stood from her seat.
"Like hell, I am going to become any of that. If it's not following my father, I guess I will become a sports instructor," she walked to the front of the class before stretching her legs above her head in a straight line.
"Come on, stop it. We got your point. You will do anything apart from what your mother decides for you. Gosh, why do you forget you are wearing a skirt?" Ashton said before he placed his jacket on her hips to stop the boys from suggestively seeing her.
"So what if I am wearing a skirt? I have leggings under them," Aaliyah reasoned innocently, and Ashton sighed.
"You are going to get us into serious trouble one of these days," Ashton hugged her to stop her and bring her back to her seat.
"Woah, Woah, Woah, stop it. I still haven't performed my best one," Aaliyah walked back before bending and jumping on her hands as she twisted her body before doing a backflip.
As she stood straight after doing her flip, she stumbled forward before looking up when someone held her shoulders, her eyes meeting with the most beautiful pair of dark chocolate eyes she has ever seen.
"I didn't know this was a gymnast class," His voice was cold, just like a chilly winter night, and Aaliyah took a step back, involuntarily stumbling back before the guy in front of her, held her hand to stop her from falling, making goosebumps rise her skin.
Such a handsome man. Aaliyah felt attracted to a person for the first time. Who was he? A transfer student? He looks old for being a student and too young to be a teacher.
"One of the troublemakers in the class? I got it," He spoke before walking and standing in front of the class.
"Hello, I will be your new English teacher. You can call me Mr. Volkov," The man said, and Aaliyah felt like someone poured cold water over her head.
"Aren't you going to go back to your seat, Miss? I will be lenient since this is your first time, but I won't always be this good," Mr. Volkov said in a gentle yet cold tone, and Aaliyah nodded before walking back to her seat in a daze.
"Stupid girl, I told you, didn't I? The teacher has just come, and you are already a troublemaker in his eyes. So much for the first impression," David spoke, and Aaliyah looked ahead at the man in front of her.
The man in front of her, how should she describe it? She has met countless men in her life. Being the younger sister of a model has done some good to her, but never has she ever felt so intimidated by anyone.
The aura he carries around himself, the confidence, everything felt so surreal and attractive. Aaliyah wasn’t an attention seeker in any way, and even if many boys have proposed to her, she has never felt a need to have a man by her side until today. The man in front of her looked almost unreal with his flawless handsomeness.
After one hour of the class with Aaliyah constantly looking at the man, trying her best to not look obvious, she finally took her bag and was about to exit the class when Mr. Volkov's words stopped her dead in her tracks.
"Miss Aaliyah Gold, right? Can I have a moment?" Mr. Volkov spoke, and she nodded at her friends, who left her alone.
"How can I help you?" Aaliyah turned around, her gaze falling on Maria, who looked like she would just pop her upper button any moment from the way she was practically pushing her chest in his face.
Barely keeping her snigger at his troubled face, Aaliyah tried to look serious with her lips constantly twitching and her gaze focused only on him, which didn't go unnoticed by her new teacher.
"I can tell you the rest later, Miss Maria. Today was just the first class," Mr. Volkov dismissed Maria, who threw a smug look at Aaliyah, who could only raise her brows, not understanding what was wrong with her.
"Miss Aaliyah, please have a seat. The thing is, I need a teacher's assistant in the meantime to get along with the school's curriculum. I talked to your homeroom teacher about it, and he said since you are one of the most diligent and intelligent students, you are the best candidate,”
"I hope it won't be an issue," Mr. Volkov looked at her, and though Aaliyah was the last person in the class who would agree to something so mundane, for some reason, she found herself nodding her head.
"Fine by me," she smiled briefly.
"Great. Then can you please prepare the list of these students and prepare the sheet with their previous marks so that I can get a gist of who needs my special attention," Mr. Volkov asked, and Aaliyah squinted her brows.
"And for some reason, you would need that list by today itself, which means I will have to stay after school?" Aaliyah asked to clear everything, and Mr. Volkov nodded.
"I would be really thankful if you could do that. This job comes with extra credits," He added seeing her resolution breaking, and she sighed.
"It's okay. Since I said yes, I would do that anyway. I am not the type to go back on my words. I will see you after the school, I guess," Aaliyah turned around to leave.
"You have a flexible body. You've got talent too," Mr. Volkov complimented her from behind, and she smiled at him before nodding and leaving, feeling happy.
After school, she entered the English teacher's room before sitting on the farthest desk.
"Are these all the test sheets that I need to arrange?" Aaliyah asked, and Mr. Volkov hummed without looking at her, making her sigh.
Seriously? The least he can do is appreciate her presence. All handsome men indeed come with a jerk attitude, don't they?
She scoffed before practically throwing the papers on the desk, making Mr. Volkov looked at her with a smirk.
He went around his desk before walking and standing in front of Aaliyah's desk. He leaned and looked at her, making her feel uneasy as her hands trembled a little. Quickly averting his gaze to the notebook when she looked up, he smirked when she clenched her grip on the pen, probably feeling agitated.
"Gosh, you are making me uncomfortable. What are you doing?" Aaliyah couldn't control herself after some time, and Volkov looked at her blankly.
"I am just trying to understand how you do this work. Do you want to be the one doing it for the whole year? This is my first job," Mr. Volkov explained, and she felt a little guilty for snapping like that.
"Besides, do you think you should be talking in that tone with your teacher?" He asked, grabbing her chin, and Aaliyah widened her eyes when her gaze met with his dark ones that were oozing those dark vibes she felt earlier.
"I- I am sorry," Aaliyah stuttered, her heartbeat increasing, and Volkov smiled.
"That's more like it," Volkov smirked at her, and she felt like his attitude took a 180° turn.
Where was the guy who was all smiles and acting so politely after his lecture? Was he doing that to get her to do his work? Aaliyah gritted her teeth as she felt like she was being used, and she sighed when he removed his hand and came to sit beside her.
Smelling the scent of his deodorant, Aaliyah closed her eyes for a brief second before clearing her throat and continuing her work. Damn it! Everything about him was screaming pure seduction to her.
After an hour, Aaliyah placed the list in front of him.
"Here it is," Aaliyah spoke, looking at him, her gaze settling on his eyes again.
Wait. Why does she feel like a deja vu settling in? Where has she seen these eyes? Why do they look so familiar? Aaliyah thought before she almost stumbled down from the desk in shock when Mr. Volkov turned to her and caught her.
"Are you by any chance checking me out, Miss Aaliyah?" He spoke in his velvety voice, and she looked away.
"There's nothing to check out," She said defensively, and he smiled.
"I hope it stays that way," he smirked a little too arrogantly, and Aaliyah gritted her teeth.
Shaking her legs, she anxiously waited for him to approve as she didn't want to be late for Ashton's football match more than she already was.
Hearing a ding sound from her phone, she took it out before smiling at the text-
"The match is going to start soon. Where is my lucky charm?" It read, and she was about to reply 'soon' when the phone was snatched from her hand, making her look at the culprit horrified.
"I hate it when people use their devices in front of me, especially when talking to me. It's disrespectful," He tossed the phone on the table, and Aaliyah looked at him, her mouth agape.
"You just did not do that!" Aaliyah raised her voice, and Mr. Volkov grabbed her chin, immediately quietening her.
"Keep your voice down. I am not your friend," He leaned, intimidating her, and Aaliyah zipped her lips before nodding, shocked.
This was the second time he grabbed her chin, and she felt horrified both times. Just what the hell was wrong with this man?
"It's okay. I will give you more sheets tomorrow," Mr. Volkov stood from his place and went straight to his chair, making her raise her brows.
"More sheets?" She asked, and he nodded.
"Didn't I tell you? I need a teacher's assistant. So you are going to do this work for a month at least. I have talked to your homeroom teacher already," Mr. Volkov said, and she sighed dejectedly before leaving.
Oh, poor Aaliyah. Why did you have to catch my gaze on the first day? Mr. Volkov thought before looking at his phone and smiling.
“It’s done,” The message said, making him smirk even more.