How to make your teacher fall in love with you

Chapter 27

 Chapter 27- Edward's POV

 Malcolm walked slowly and stopped at the door, just a few centimetres away from me. As I stood there, still baffled, he walked past me and into the classroom. I turned around swiftly, making myself dizzy. I stopped, my world running around in circles. I heard Malcolm laughing, and I looked up. He was looking at me, albeit laughing at me. Great.

"What are you doing here?" I asked with an accusatory tone, remembering that he could very well be the person sending me the notes, messages and photos. I stood still near the door, unable to do much else. 

I anxiously waited for him to answer me. 

Malcolm folded his arms and looked at me from head to toe briefly. The look on his face seemed to be one of disgust. "You know what? I'm glad my sister chose your friend, not you." I felt myself heat up with rage, and opened my mouth to speak, but Malcolm continued. "Are all the teachers in this school as rude as the two of you are?" 

I gave a non-committal shrug, trying to put away the horrible image that Malcolm had managed to put in my head. Ella and John. I shuddered. "You haven't answered my question," I said. 

Malcolm looked up. "Oh? You haven't answered mine either. What question?" 

"I asked why you're here." 

"Aah. Yeah. I came to ask what your opinion is. Regarding the issue with my sister and... that guy." 

I chuckled. "You know, for a person studying law, you're really not that good," I said. 

Malcolm narrowed his eyes. "And how would you know what I'm studying?"

Darn. I had not thought about this. Of course, Ella had told me, but I couldn't really say that. 

"Just a guess." 

"As if. I know everything, Edward." 

The silence that followed in the room was shocking. It wasn't just because Ella's brother had addressed me by my name, indicating that perhaps he knew me well, but also because he said that he knew. What did he know? Did he know about Ella and I? 

He was waiting for me to react or answer, but I didn't. I was too busy wondering. 

Did he know about us because he'd been the one following me? Because that seemed to be the most logical answer right now. 

He paced around the room, looking around, while I stood there, motionless, my eyes following his every move. He stopped in front of the canvas, the one I had hidden for no one to see. Ella's portrait. I felt myself panic, but couldn't find the energy to move. 

But Malcolm didn't reach for it. Instead, he turned back around, and said. "I've been receiving notes and photos regarding Ella. Was that you?" 

I couldn't believe it. Malcolm too had been receiving the notes... or claiming to have been, anyway. And he was asking me if it had been me. I could do nothing but shake my head. "No. I thought that was you."

Malcolm frowned. "You've been receiving them, too?"

"Yeah."

I walked over to my chair and sat down, not knowing what else to do. Malcolm dragged a chair over and sat down next to me, drumming his fingers on the desk top. He caught my eye and did not break the contact. Suddenly it felt like the room was a thousand times smaller. Like he knew something that he wasn't telling me. But I couldn't bring myself to ask.

I didn't have to. He spoke soon enough. He didn't use words to speak though, he merely put his hand into his jacket pocket and took out a set of folded papers, and left them on the table. I didn't react, apart from looking at him without understanding. He pushed the papers towards me, inviting me to take a look.