Chapter 7: Part 2/5

We have one compulsory PE lesson a week during sixth form. I think it might be a national requirement. I used to enjoy it when I was younger, but mostly when we were playing football. It was a real tragedy when you found out the next half term focus was going to be rugby. I had to go straight to that PE lesson from the library, still aroused by the teasing that Alice had given me.

Poppy reminded me that I had detention at lunch time, which really ruined my vibe for the rest of the day. Alice hadn’t spelled it out as bluntly as she did the day before, but I knew she was going to be at my house with Lily when I got home. That extra hour each day was going to kill me, when the promise of what was to come was so exciting. The previous night’s hookup was incredible, before and after the two of them got overly competitive with one another.

Sociology was my only other lesson that day. Lily got another chance to leer at Miss Bishop, who looked as gorgeous as ever. Lily had been a real tease in this class the day before, but didn’t distract me as much this time around. The focus of the lesson was gender roles, and she seemed pretty taken by the topic. She joked at one point that it was annoying she couldn’t talk shit about incubus whenever the male gender was discussed.

Lily and Alice left together at the end of the day. I didn’t know what lay in store for me when I got home, but both of them had made promises over the course of the day that were sure to benefit me at some time or another.

Miss Evans had little interest in sticking around at the start of the detention. She was out of there the second that Poppy and I sat down. The tests were already waiting for us on our desks.

“Fucking bitch,” Poppy said, the second the door was closed.

“Didn’t you two make up last night?” I asked. I knew they had an out of school hours tutoring session because it was mentioned in the group chat.

“We made up when she arrived, and then she pissed me off for the rest of the night,” Poppy moaned.

“What’s the problem now?”

“She said I am slipping. My focus, my effort, my motivations, my marks are going down, but she ignores the fact it’s by one or two and not 10 or 20.”

“The marks speak for themselves. If you’re not far off your par then it’s fine, but the rest is at least worth thinking about. Do you think she’s right about all of that?” I asked. I was always going to side with my friend, but it was only the two of us, and maybe she was struggling and needed to talk about it.

“It’s just a lot of pressure,” Poppy said softly, her shoulders slouched. “Maybe it’s true, but she doesn’t seem to understand that there is more to life sometimes. I am trying to find a balance. She just doesn’t have an off switch when it comes to the expectations we have laid out for each other.”

“Not long until we’re finished now,” I said, thinking about the upcoming exams. It was going to be a hectic few months, and that was before the succubus showed up. “Try and stay on good terms with her until you cross the finishing line, then you can have a proper break.”

“The tension between us is annoying me so much,” Poppy continued. “If I talk about anything other than maths she gets snippy with me. She’s been extra bitchy for the last few weeks because of what happened with...”

She hesitated, letting her words drift into nothing. “With who?” I asked.

“I don’t think I told you about this. I just told the girls.”

“Is it a guy?”

Poppy nodded. “It’s fine. We’re not together anymore. I was seeing this guy on and off and he came over once after our tutoring session. He just arrived too early and they met at the door and she felt disrespected that my hookup was right there in front of her. I wasn’t even sleeping with him. We never got to that part, but since then it feels like she thinks I am a slut or something like that.”