Chapter 3. Sinbad Is Big Bad

Aria’s POV

There were dark circles under my eyes. It had been two days, and my dad was yet to return or send another message. A few more hours, and we could officially report him as missing. We tried to call Mom, but her number was also switched off. We didn't even know the way to his new office, so we couldn't go check on him.

I was really worried, but we still had to go to school. Jerry insisted we stay at home, claiming that a missing parent was a good enough excuse to skip school. Wednesday morning, we gathered around the dining table, slowly eating our cereals. Jerry had a new bruise on his face. Earlier, he had refused to open his room door, not wanting to go to school. I grabbed a screwdriver, and with Sue's help, we dismantled his door handle. In hindsight, I could have just used the lockpicking set I got for my birthday, but oh well. Amidst Jerry's yells and curses, we took apart the door handle. Once the door opened, Sue landed a punch squarely on his face.

"Dad might be missing, and all you can do is act like a messed up baby!" she yelled and stormed out.

I stood by the door, looking at Jerry. Although I wanted to smooth things out, his angry and wronged expression just annoyed me. I threw the door handle and screwdriver at his feet. "Fix that when we return," I said, turning to leave. Before walking away, I added, "And Jerry, at some point in your lifetime, grow up!"

So you can imagine that breakfast a few minutes later was quiet. Jerry stood up, picked up his bowl, and noisily dumped it into the sink. Sue opened her mouth to yell at him, but I shook my head at her, signaling to let him be.

Before leaving the kitchen, Jerry turned to us. "I hate how you just assume that I don't care just because I'm not sulking around, acting like the world's about to end."

Sue stood up and strode towards him in a few steps. She grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and pushed him against the wall.

"If anything happens to Mom and Dad, our world may as well end!" she exclaimed. Releasing him, her fist flew towards his head again. I thought she was about to hit him, but her fist landed on the wall, just a hair's breadth away from his head.

She turned and took her phone off the table, waving it at him. "I called Mom's office when her number didn't go through. You know what they said?" She didn't wait for a reply and continued, "They said her replacement came early, and she already left the city on Sunday. They even threw a going-away party for her. I had to make up some stupid excuse so they don't notice anything's wrong. Do you know what this means?"

I reacted this time. "She was supposed to be here since Monday, which means... Mom's missing as well?"

Another period ended, and I didn't even have time to be annoyed at the teacher's rotten behavior. Even when Sue and I met her namesake on the stairs, I had to drag Sue away before she ended up being arrested for assault. We went our separate ways for the last period. I had natural science, while she had arts. I entered the classroom and sat on the first seat I saw. A few minutes later, the teacher walked in, and another class began. For some reason, today we were once again learning about the biology and nature of wolves. Somehow, the class sounded more mystical than scientific.

As our teacher pointed out the different changes in a wolf's genes during the full moon, the door suddenly swung open with a bang, capturing the attention of the entire class. I raised my head to see who had entered so disruptively.

To my surprise, an exceptionally attractive guy walked in. I couldn't help but be intrigued, wondering how the teacher would scold this Adonis. It's an instinct to want bad things to happen to people who are too good-looking. However, instead of scolding him, the teacher respectfully greeted him, saying, "Sir, please take your seat."

It seemed like he was a big shot around here. But Sinbad, as I later learned his name, barely spared the teacher a glance. Instead, he walked directly towards me. My heart fluttered, and I had to resist the urge to clutch my chest as my emotions went haywire. The class fell into hushed whispers and muffled laughter. Frowning, I looked around, only to realize that Bitchy Sue had taken the seat beside mine. I had initially ignored her, thinking she just wanted to annoy me, but now she was smirking at me. Soon, I understood why when I heard the deep voice above me.

"Get up, that's my seat."

Again?! What is it with these people acting all territorial about their stupid seats? Well, big shot or not, I wasn't moving an inch, and no one was going to make me.

So I turned to him and, in my best attempt at a Royal British accent (which, I must admit, was probably the worst British accent ever), I said, "Pardonnez-moi, my good sir, but alas, I do not see your name on this chair. I'm afraid you will have to scram now."

Don't even ask me why my British accent had a touch of French in it.

He raised a perfect brow at me. "So, you won't get up?"

He didn't seem angry, so I decided to act even more haughty. "I most certainly will not!"

He nodded, and I smiled in triumph, thinking I had won this little battle. One point for Aria and zero for Adonis. But then, he dumped his bag on my desk and firmly held my shoulders.

"What are you doing?" I panicked, my accent fleeing as my heart raced.

He effortlessly lifted me as if I were paper and dumped me into the next seat like trash. I felt like a ragdoll being moved from one toy box to another. My face burned red, a mix of anger, embarrassment, and the fact that a guy was so close to me. Boys didn't come near me and Sue after what happened two years ago at our old school—an incident that nearly got us expelled.

He calmly sat down in his seat, and Bitchy Sue leaned into him, her oversized unmentionables almost spilling out. She sneered at me before turning her attention to flutter her whip-like lashes at him. I half-expected one of those peacock feathers to poke him in the eye. Although he barely paid her any attention, he didn't stop her either.

Not that I cared. He was stupid. Boys were stupid. It was general knowledge, really.

Urgh, why wasn't the teacher stopping this nauseating display of public affection? I turned to look, but the teacher continued with her notes on the board. I was certain she had noticed them, but she was choosing to ignore the whole thing. Frustrated, I turned my attention back to Sinbad, wondering just who this guy was.