Chapter 50. Apple juice box.
The smell of floor cleaner and new books filled the lecture hall. The sound of a projector humming as Celiana got the slides ready for her presentation. Students were shuffling to get to their seats, some of them whispering to each other while others were typing on their laptops.
Silas was in a turmoil. His toughest fight yet. Should he put the pink bunny bag down next to his chair or on his lap? His face was emotionless yet inside his mind was having a war. His lap. It would feel like his daughters were with him for the day.
Putting the bag on his lap, he got out the textbook and laid it on his little desk, ignoring the strange look he got from his classmates. When they sat down, the professor turned off the lights. During the presentation she talked and wrote things on the board.
Sometimes he’d rub the bunny keychain. He didn’t need this class and yet he found himself listening and even taking a few notes. Could Celiana be worth his time? Maybe. The sound of clicking keyboards was loud. Until it vanished when the lecture was over.
Celiana dismissed the class but Silas stayed seated as the other students stood up and filed out of the door. The lights turned back on.
The professor packed her things, putting away her tablet. Naturally she’d seen him with the pink bag and rubbing it for an entire hour.
“Interesting bag,” she said and closed her briefcase.
He smiled at her. The bunny keychain jingled a little in his hands.
“My daughters gave it to me so I wouldn’t forget my lunch.” He took out the box and opened it, seeing a ham sandwich inside. It had a note: Don’t forget to drink water - mommy Kathy and Vic. There was also an apple juice box.
The teacher blinked slowly at him and he took out his juice box. The plastic straw poked a hole in the cardboard. He took a sip.
A warm feeling filled him.
“Your daughters made you lunch?” Celiana asked. She sat down on a chair in the first row. Her eyes on him as he ate.
He took a bite out of the sandwich and it tasted amazing. Plain but satisfying.
“Yup, and reminded me to wear my seatbelt. It was a very loving gesture, don’t you think?” He laughed.
She nodded and opened her own lunch bag. Her own sandwich and a thermos of coffee.
The lecture hall was quiet now that it was just them, the air was fresh and cool.
“So Silas are you going to beat around the bush like a schoolboy?” Celiana took a sip of her coffee.
He grinned.
“Me talking about my family isn’t beating around the bush. It’s the most important topic.” He took another sip of his apple juice, savoring it as she sighed.
“I’m sure it is. How about we talk about what is on your mind?” She asked and put down the coffee, crossing her legs as she sat.
Her strong perfume was still there and he needed to use spatial magic to block it out.
He put down the sandwich, half of it was gone.
“I want you cancel classes on Thursday. I have to attend a trial,” he said, looking at her yellow eyes that looked back at him without wavering.
Celiana tapped her coffee thermos. She was thinking, the clock behind him ticking loudly.
“Your attendance is mandatory so instead you want me to cancel all classes on that day?” she clarified, making sure she understood correctly.
Silas nodded.
The professor hummed and looked up. Her hand moved her glasses to sit more properly.
“What do I get out of this favor, besides making the strongest hunter owe me?” She smirked a little.
He was silent. It has been a while since he was in an actual negotiation. Then he snorted. Silas knew exactly what this type of woman wanted, he had dealt with Matilda long enough.
“Information obviously.”
She raised an eyebrow.
“What kind of information are you willing to offer?” She was leaning back, her eyes a bit curious.
Standing up he sat next to her, the scent of her perfume bothering him again so he just took care of it entirely, making the smell vanish from existence. He saw her face turn into confusion.
“You get to ask me one question and I will answer,” he said with a charming smile, “Maybe.”
The maybe made her huff.
“Alright, I accept. No class on Thursday and I will teach the whole lesson on Friday.” She stood up. Her lunch box in her hand.
“And your question?” he asked.
She smiled, her lips twisting a little.
“Maybe later. I want to think about it,” Celiana replied and walked out of the lecture hall, the sound of her shoes the only sound left.
The door clicked shut and Silas was alone, the warm food in his stomach, a promise to attend a trial on his mind. The creaking of the wooden chairs in the empty hall was eerie, the clock ticked another minute.
He needed to play by Lucifer’s rule this time. If she was serious about enforcing laws on everyone, then the Court of Humanity was the perfect place to test her convictions. The Judge and President was about to get a glimpse of her predecessors’s deeds. He looked forward to it.
A grin appeared on his face and he finished his sandwich. His stomach was happy. His mind was planning and his heart was beating steadily. Staring at the back on his chair, he saw the little bunny keychain again and he smiled. Putting the bag on his shoulder, he used his spatial sense to find one of those magical glasses Henry Smith invented. They were all over the place.
He found one at an apartment nearby.
“Time to speak to a person from another world,” Silas chuckled.