The Judge of Hell is My Phone Pal

Chapter 15 Breakthrough

The stocky thug thought for a while, "Okay. Since you are her teacher, we’ll let her go but you have to pay us the $10,000 within two days. If you don’t, we’ll come to the school to find you and teach you a lesson you’ll never forget."

He gave Demi a malicious smile, “And you will still have to sleep with us both if he doesn’t pay up.”

He reached forward to stroke Dem’s cheek but she dodged his touch and cursed him, "Go to hell. Stay away from me, asshole!"

The thug laughed, "I love a woman with spirit!”

He turned to his mate, “Come on, let's go," and the pair of them swaggered off.

Demi tidied her clothes and then, without even acknowledging Ivan, set off in the opposite direction to the school.

"Demi, stop," Ivan called after her.

Demi looked back at him. "Now, what?” she asked as if he was some kind of irritating pest.

Ivan walked over to her, "Where are you going?"

"What’s it got to do with you? You're not my boyfriend."

"I'm your teacher. You should be in lessons now,” Ivan pointed at his watch, “and I have a right to know why you are absent from school.”

Demi glanced at her watch. She pushed a strand of hair behind her ear and smirked, “I’m going to the gynecology clinic because I have period pains, okay?"

“Fine." Ivan nodded, "But you should have asked permission first. Also, what was all that about with those hoodlums just now?"

"Mr. Frank, you helped me, but that doesn’t mean I have to thank you for your kindness. You volunteered to pay them, I didn’t ask you to. Stop trying to interfere in my life. I will go back to school after seeing the doctor. As for the $10,000, I refused to pay them because they conned me. It’s up to you if you want to pay it."

Demi's tone was cold and impertinent.

Ivan wanted to slap that contemptuous look right off her face!

Demi was nothing short of a disrespectful little madam!

Seeing Ivan glare at her, Demi chuckled, "Mr. Frank, are you angry?"

Holding back his anger, Ivan hailed a cab. “Get in,” he told Demi.

“Why?”

"I'll take you to the hospital. We’ll go straight back to school together once you’ve seen a doctor.”

"Are you wanting to keep an eye on me, Mr. Frank?"

Ivan looked at Demi and stressed. "This is about protection. If you don't get into the car, we will go back to school immediately. You didn’t seek permission to be out of school today. As your form teacher I have a duty of care, and if you had an accident whilst absent from school, I would have to take responsibility.”

Demi’s perfect teeth gleamed as she smiled, "Mr. Frank, you really are a good man. Okay. Let's go to the hospital together."

She opened the front door and sat in the passenger seat.

Ivan got in the back and they set off for the hospital.

They traveled in silence. Demi took out a mirror and penciled her eyebrows.

Ivan glanced at her and saw that she was scrutinizing him in the mirror. He looked away at once, secretly cursing how unlucky he was to have such a beautiful, but a difficult student. She was indeed extremely shrewd too.

They got out of the cab at the entrance to the hospital.

Demi smiled, "Mr. Frank, will you be accompanying me to the gynecology department?"

Ivan gritted his teeth and forced a smile. "You can go in by yourself, I'll wait for you outside.”

The smile on Demi’s face turned to a smirk, "Mr. Frank, what if you’re seen by someone you know? As a male teacher, how will you explain accompanying a young girl pupil to the gynecology department? Aren’t you worried about how that might seem?”

Ivan kept a straight face, "Demi, if you don't want to see a doctor, let's go back to school now."

"Mr. Frank, I'm joking with you. You’re so easy to take the piss out of.”

Demi glanced at him, "Okay, you wait for me here."

Ivan watched Demi register at the clinic and take the lift to the second floor, then went to wait in the hospital reception.

As he sat down, he looked around to make sure there wasn’t anyone he knew there. Although Demi had been teasing him, her words made sense. As a male teacher, he would indeed be placed in a compromising position if seen accompanying a female pupil to the gynecology department!

He was sitting behind a pillar, subconsciously trying not to be seen by passers-by when suddenly someone called out his name.

His heart missed a beat.

How could he possibly know anyone else here?

Looking up, he saw Ailsa approaching.

Why was she here? Had she somehow found out that he had accompanied Demi to the hospital?

Ivan quickly stood up, "Principal Ailsa, what are you doing here?"

"I’ve come to collect my dad's medical records." Ailsa patted the file in her hand, "How about you, Ivan. What are you doing here?"

Ivan glanced at the hospital building before replying, "I’m accompanying someone to see the doctor."

"Who?" Ailsa also glanced at the hospital building as she asked. "Ivan, you should be at school. If you haven't requested leave, you shouldn’t be out dealing with private matters."

Ivan grimaced, then took a deep breath, He had no option other than to tell Ailsa the truth, "It isn’t a private matter, Principal Ailsa. I came to the hospital with Demi. She needed to see a doctor. I'm waiting for her here."

"Demi?" Ailsa was stunned, "Ivan, it is understandable that as a teacher you care for your students, but it really isn’t appropriate for a male teacher to accompany a female student to hospital alone."

"Principal Ailsa, you’ve got it all wrong.”

Concerned by the confusion in Ailsa’s eyes and worried that she might now consider him to be some kind of s****l predator, Ivan pulled himself together and gave her a full account of what had happened that afternoon.

Ailsa listened quietly and frowned. Her doubts about Ivan quickly dispersed. "It seems that Demi is still doing part-time work. Teachers have told me about it before and I have tried to talk to her but she won’t listen. She’s very rebellious. Clearly, the more you reasoned with her, the less notice she took, Ivan. You were worried about her welfare and were right to come with her to the hospital. I'm sorry that I misunderstood you."

Ivan smiled, "Principal Ailsa, it's okay, but I’m curious about Demi and what makes her tick. Where is she from and why is she living on campus?"

"Demi is from Cleveland where her parents are said to be in business. Since she isn’t local, she has to live on campus. Her parents have only ever visited her once since she enrolled. I’ve contacted her parents, but they refuse to come due to their work commitments. This girl is well-known for her disruptive behavior in school!"

Ivan nodded.

Class 3 was certainly made up of difficult students!

Ailsa’s tone softened, “How are you finding Class 3? Are they causing you any stress?”

"No, not really. Having worked in business, I handle stress well," Ivan answered with a smile.

"You do seem very confident,” Ailsa told him, “And your martial arts skills must come in very handy!

Demi arrived back as they were chatting, “Hi, Principal Ailsa, have you come to protect me too?”

Ailsa smiled at Demi. "What's wrong with you?"

"I’m fine. It’s just period pains. The doctor prescribed me some medication."

Ivan and Ailsa looked at each other. "Okay, Demi. Now, how come you owe so much money to those of gangsters?"

Demi immediately became angry at Ailsa’s question and glared at Ivan, "Mr. Frank, have you told Principal Ailsa about what happened earlier?"

Stunned by her sudden change in mood, Ivan nodded.

"How dare you report my personal business to others without my permission?” Demi spat out.

"Demi, don't blame Mr. Frank. I asked him first. It is his duty to inform me of any concerns he might have about his students,” Ailsa responded.

"Duty?" Demi sneered. "Don't put it so nicely. He just a gossip!"

Ailsa’s face darkened, “Demi, watch your tongue."

"If the teacher wrongs me, why shouldn’t I point it out?" Demi raised her head and stared at Ailsa in defiance.

Ivan worried that Demi was about to cause an embarrassing scene in public. She was certainly stubborn enough and clearly had no qualms about openly challenging the school principal to her face!

He quickly moved to shield Ailsa from her, “Stop this now, Demi. You’re right, I should have sought your permission before telling someone about your personal affairs. I made a mistake and I’m sorry. But Principal Ailsa isn’t being nosey, she’s worried about you. Instead of acting the way you are, you need to behave like a student and show her some respect."

Demi turned to Ivan, “What do you mean, acting like I am? What am I acting like?”.

"Do you really want to know?" Ivan asked, deliberately keeping her guessing.

Demi nodded.

"What if you don’t like what I say? Will you be angry?"

"It depends on what it is,” Demi pouted.

Ivan laughed, "You were behaving like a vixen. What do you think about that?"

Demi laughed too, "That’s not too bad."

Ivan had actually wanted to say something much harsher, but swallowed it back and changed the description, temporarily at least, "In that case, it means you know that you're wrong. Apologize to Principal Ailsa."

Demi turned to Ailsa. "Principal Ailsa, I'm sorry for my rudeness just now. I was just pissed off."

Ailsa glanced at Ivan, then smiled graciously at Demi. "It doesn't matter. I was also a little angry, so I apologize to you too. However, as a student, I hope from now on you will give priority to your studies."

Demi nodded and Ailsa gave Ivan a congratulatory smile.

Had he just made a breakthrough with Demi?