CHAPTER IX: CLASS REVIEWS

Damn, shouldn’t have drunk all of that whiskey after last night's job. I may not have hangovers no matter how much I drink but I’m starting to get really sleepy. And it’s just 10 in the morning too!

Hero, as usual, arrives early to his beautiful professor’s class. He still had twenty minutes to burn and to wake up from his sudden bouts of sleepiness so he starts reviewing what happened last night.

Finished the interview. Completed the job. Drank myself to sleep. Realized too late that we have special make-up classes today due to a week-long school suspension, no thanks to an intense hurricane early this year…

But he had to admit that he wasn’t really ready to go back to the memory he had of the interview so the alcohol was necessary. He might as well think things over while the luscious Prof. Semana is still away…

He repeats the scene in his head: The pale slim woman screaming her heart out as he tried to straddle her half-naked body… him maneuvering his large throbbing 8-incher into her mouth…

And seeing someone else in her place which was making him all the more hot and randy…

Lyra, that’s who I saw. Not Tina, the interviewee… Lyra, my favorite professor…

He sighs deeply, his hands moving to cover his face.

What the hell is wrong with me? I should be respecting her, honoring her, putting her up on a fucking pedestal for being such a lovely, intelligent, and strong woman! Instead… I’m raping her in my mind! Over and over again, in different scenarios too? And FUCKING LOVING IT? You are a FREAK, Hero! A SICKO!

He starts to check his phone. Normally, his Ma’am Lyra would be 10 minutes early. If she wasn’t, she would be texting him five minutes before the class starts so he could tell his classmates that she would be late.

No messages yet.

You don’t even deserve to be near her and look at how she trusts you, motherfucker!  You can’t stop yourself from wanting to help her, be close to her, even offering to be her friend… while you practically fantasize about taking her against her will on a damned regular basis! WHAT THE HELL, HERO?!

More of the memories of last night come flooding in…

“SIIIIIRRRR STOP PLEEEEAAAASSSSE!!!”

A loud ringtone reverberates throughout the room, drowning out the girl’s terrified screams and the room’s ambient saxophone music. Hero’s back jeans pocket starts vibrating like crazy and he snaps out of his trance.

Shit, did I accidentally put my phone on loud instead of mute? Yeah, I was that out of it after leaving her apartment. On second thought, thank the heavens for small favors.

Hero slowly pulls away from the almost nude lady beneath him while trying his best to fit his still red pulsing tackle into his pants. He brings out the phone that's still shaking his right rounded ass cheek non-stop, stands up, and steps away from the whimpering interviewee.

The girl immediately scoots to the end of the silken purple couch, still sobbing uncontrollably while shakily fixing her dress to cover up her nakedness. He tries to ignore her…

”Hello?”

”Where are you now? You said you’d be here.”

"I said I’d be later than usual and you agreed.”

A long pause from the other end…

”Fine, I’ll wait.”

”Well, thank you very much for your patience,” Hero drawls, his voice dripping with sarcasm. He then ends the call wishing he could slam his mobile through the wall to deafen his caller.

Asshole!

“Sir…”

Oh yeah... Her.

Hero walks over to the woman, who has now tried to dress herself up properly despite the slightly ripped dress, disheveled hair, and missing left shoe. She immediately places her hands across her breasts and tightly brings her knees together as he sits on the glass table in front of her. It takes him a while to speak, seeing how miserable the young lady is.

I never like doing this but there is no other way to make these naive girls realize how bad the shit they'll be dealing with when working at the Resort. Sure, when it becomes a legit escort club like the ones in Japan they can come back but they won't survive being used by the sleazy customers that we currently have. Some of them are even underground drug lords, gangsters, pedophiles, sex-maniacs, no thanks to his grandfather's past rep. 

“Tina,” he says gently, almost tenderly, “this is a regular scenario here in the Resort. You think you can cut it?”

The teary-eyed girl, her make-up all but destroyed, shakes her head frantically.

Hero fishes out his scented handkerchief from his left back pocket and hands it to her, “We are trying to change this situation but we still need to go through a lot of processes for that to happen. Until all that is finalized, I don’t think you can handle working here. Do you agree with that?”

”Y-yes sir…”, the girl stutters, wiping mascara lines off her cheeks.

”Good. That was just a little production demo for you to finally decide if you want in or not, so I hope you don’t hold anything against me. Oh, and keep the handkerchief.”

He takes another shot of whiskey from the bar before leaving the still sniffling female in the room. He nods to Nick - who has been standing outside the door all this time -  takes a bottle of whiskey from the main lounge along with his leather jacket, then exits hurriedly out the main entrance.

Nick, Hero's trusted bodyguard and longtime friend, will be the one driving the girl home. This is his required SOP for "auditions" ever since he took this position in his grandfather’s business at the early age of 19. Since his title in the Midnight Resort is "The Interviewer" or the "The Auditioner", he wanted to be sure that whoever he shared the "casting couch" with would be safely brought home after every session, no matter where she lived.

I respect women that much. I am raised that way. Why can’t I give Lyra the same respect when I’m alone with her in my mind?

Hero skips the memory of the job that he had to complete after leaving the resort. He never did find those tasks significant. It’s just an extension of his military background and training. Besides, he needed the chance to exercise, along with keeping his fighting and sleuthing skills sharp and effective. That's it, that's all. The huge payments don't even matter.

His mind goes back to the present.

Where the hell is she? It’s already 10:05. She’s never this late, ever…

The worried man brings out his phone once again and, just then, the large screen lights up, a pretty pic of his smiling professor flashing for all his classmates to see. He was, after all, sitting in his favorite front seat and the ringing, along with the caller ID photo on his mobile, has definitely gotten everyone’s attention.

Hero found himself standing as he stares at the phone, all signs of sleepiness gone. He was also suddenly oblivious to the small smiles and meaningful looks his fellow students were throwing his way. He answers the call…

“Hey, Lyra where are you? Anything wrong?”

“Are you already in the classroom, Hero?”

”Of course I am. You know I’m always early.”

Yeah, because I’ll be seeing you…

”We have a problem at the gate. I have uhhhh… an unwanted visitor.”

Hero immediately goes on aggressive mode, an automatic reaction due to his military degree.

And also because, if he is going to be completely honest, he does like Lyra a lot and she sounded worried... even scared.

“Which gate? The middle one?” he was already stepping out of the room when Lyra’s commanding but melodic voice stops him.

“WAIT! Tell the class not to leave first! Please request them to stay because we need to complete this make-up class whatever happens.”

Wow, I really love how sharp she is! She even knows that I was about to leave…

”Okay, gotcha. You stay with the security guards there, ok? Clyde is usually armed, so stick with him.”

”Alright, I’ll wait for you.”

”You’d better!” Hero curtly replies before ending the call. He then faces the multi-leveled classroom filled with grinning students.

”Lyra, huh? Whatever happened to Ms. Lyra or Professor Semana?” chuckles one tall guy at the back.

“You’d better? That’s smooth Hero!” giggles a heavily made-up girl, sitting near the window.

“Nice pic, man! Can I ask for a copy?” laughingly asked a pudgy student just two rows behind his seat.

The students continue to hoot and cheer at the obviously startled expression on Hero’s face. However, his look only lasts for a few seconds…

And so did their laughter.

”Hey, ENOUGH! Pay ATTENTION guys,” he commanded his fellow students as if he was ordering a platoon of new army recruits. “You are all to STAY HERE while I fetch our prof from the middle gate. PLEASE WAIT until we come back.”

”Yes, SIR!” some of his classmates yelled back, acting out mock salutes from where they are seated. Obviously, a lot of them know about his first degree in military science.

As Hero starts pointing at them, pretending to be angry while walking out the door, the whole class just explodes in complete mirth.

Lyra’s favorite student laughs along with them for just a moment. The minute he steps out into the hall, he shifts to his typical grim expression when dealing with any kind of serious situation.

And if my hunch is right, this is definitely a serious situation... or even dangerous.