[center][h3][color=moccasin]Dionne Fontanne[/color][/h3][/center]
“The Lamia,” Mrs. Lovell started, “was once a beautiful queen. She was so stunning that she caught the eye of Zeus, the king of the gods, who descended to the mortal realm to woo her,” Mrs. Lovell said, a bitter smile on her face. Dionne guessed that the story held some personal value to the teacher—perhaps she’d been divorced and therefore disillusioned to the simplicities of love? “Soon enough she fell captive to his fanciful tricks and empty promises, and they ended up having a whole host of children. It didn’t take long for word to get out about the queen’s secret suitor, and so started the queen’s doom. Hera, queen of gods and Zeus’ wife, was jealous of the queen’s beauty and prosperity and transforms the queen into a monster, forcing her to—to—”

Mrs Lovell stopped, seeming as if unable to continue the thought. There was a silence as the class waited for the moment their teacher regained her bearings, but it didn’t seem to be coming.

“‘To devour her own children?’” Dustin asked, reading the line off the handout. Mrs. Lovell swallowed and nodded.

“Yes, that. All because Hera was jealous of her beauty that charmed the goddess’ unfaithful husband.”

“The paper doesn’t say that Hera was jealous of her beauty,” James, one of the resident smart alecks, asked when the teacher called on his raised hand. “It just says that Hera was jealous.”

“Of course she was jealous of the mortal’s beauty,” Mrs. Lovell said, scoffing. “That’s all the old witch does on her throne—stew in jealousy and act on impulse, dictating others to do her bidding and never lifting a finger for herself.”

The room grew silent again, and it became clear that the class had touched upon some sensitive subject that Mrs. Lovell held strong opinions about. 

[color=moccasin]“Surely the queen of the gods has some redeeming features,”[/color] Dionne joked, just to lighten the atmosphere. Mrs. Lovell’s eyes seized on the girl, blazing scarlet orbs of fury. 

“You say that as an ignorant fool, girl. You have no idea—[i]no idea[/i]—what that witch is up to,” the teacher said, eyes flashing as Dionne shrank back into her seat under the intensity of the teacher’s gaze. In this moment, Mrs. Lovell seemed more reptilian than human—more monster than mortal. But, in a second the aura of malevolence was gone and the bell had rung to dismiss the class. “Finish the packet and continue reading about the ancient Greeks in your textbooks,” Mrs. Lovell said as the students packed up quickly, frightened into silence. 

The silence remained, tangibly oppressive and demanding until it was interrupted by Mrs. Lovell’s shrill voice. “Dionne. Seth. I want to see both of you after school,” the teacher said, packing up as well. “Be here after your last period.”

[color=moccasin]“Mrs. Lovell—”[/color] Dionne started in protest, but the teacher was already gone.

[hr]
[@DFA]