In the Demon's Company (Demon's Assistant Book 2) Read Online Free

is awesome. She clearly loves her subject matter and she makes it, if not fun, not totally miserable. Plus, I hear she has the class make peanut brittle class day before Christmas Break. That’s chemistry I can live with.
    Other people file in, all taking note of Mrs. Crane’s return, but no one says anything until Melissa walks in. She went to grab coffee between Spanish and Chemistry and holds the paper cup in her hand. I swallow a lump of frustration at the sight of it. A quick trip to the cafeteria between classes was something we used to do together.
    “Welcome back, Mrs. Crane,” Melissa says, smiling. “How’s your arm? Did you get our card? The whole class signed it.”
    Mrs. Crane stares at Melissa like she doesn’t recognize her. And staring through Melissa, in her cherry print Gothic Lolita dress, is a feat. Mrs. Crane is rigid as Melissa tries a few more times but when she gets no response, she takes her seat at a lab table in the front. She glances back and I give her a that-was-weird look. She nods, brow furrowed.
    Mrs. Crane is probably still in pain. Possibly even on drugs for the pain. After the car accident, the doctors sent me home with Vicodin. I didn’t like it because it turned my mouth into a cotton field and it made me sleepy, but when the pain got bad enough, I took it. It made me feel kind of blank and out of it. She could be taking something similar.
    “Mrs. C!” Jay Hernandez, another of my classmates, says as he walks in. “I heard you’d be back but I refused to believe it until I saw it for myself.” He waits for a reaction but she only gives him an icy stare. He sits down next to Melissa and they start whispering.
    The rest of the class files in, some greeting our returned teacher and getting no reaction. When the bell rings, Mrs. Crane sits down at her desk and pulls out her cell phone. There’s no assignment or page numbers to read written on the white board like usual.
    A murmur of whispers travels through the room. Mrs. Crane doesn’t look up or seem to notice. Instead, she pulls her purse out of a drawer and sets it on her desk with a thud. It’s a brown purse, kind of like a saddlebag, and she plays absently with the fringe.
    Finally, Melissa raises her hand. “Mrs. Crane?” she asks. Her voice is quiet. Mrs. Crane looks up. She scans the room like she isn’t sure who spoke. “Is there something you want us to work on?”
    Mrs. Crane opens her purse, reaches in, and then lets out a long breath. And then she meets my eyes. The glassy sheen is gone. They’re clear. They’re full of terror. My heart hammers. Mrs. Crane pulls her hand back out empty, like she couldn’t find what she was looking for. She zips the purse back up but it takes several tries because her hand is shaking. “You shouldn’t waste your precious time in classrooms,” she says finally. “Life is too short and it can all end in a flash when you least expect it.”
    “Oh-kay,” Jay says, sounding skeptical. We all exchange glances, unsure what we should do.
    Mrs. Crane stands, putting her purse over her shoulder. It sags with the weight of its contents. “Fine. You want a lesson? Here’s a lesson. Don’t have regrets. Whatever choices you make, make them carefully. Because one day you’re going to face death and you don’t want to do so while wishing you had more time, and hating yourself for all of the missed opportunities and lost chances.”
    The hair on the back of my neck stands up and cold washes over me. Mrs. Crane tears up but keeps speaking.
    “Desperate people make desperate choices. Don’t be desperate for more time. Use the time you have now before you end up—” She stops and shakes her head. She clutches the strap of her purse so tightly her knuckles turn white. She starts crying in earnest. “I can’t do it. I thought I could but I just… I’m so sorry.” She lowers her voice. “Please forgive me.” The words are a whispered plea to the universe more than an apology