I swallowed the dregs of my first coffee and threw the empty cup in the trash, still tightly clutching the other. I needed the caffeine to function. Yes, I was an addict.

Brushing down my shirt, I walked down the empty hallway, my footsteps echoing. This very hallway would soon be crowded with noisy, sweaty teenagers but for now it was blessedly empty.

Leaving the hall, I entered what had been my classroom for a year. It was bare, stripped of everything that had given it personality. The grey walls were dull and gave the room the air of a prison cell. I'm sure to many of the pupils it had been. But it was the last day, and freedom loomed. I couldn't wait for the vacation; I needed it. Badly.

Sitting behind my recently emptied desk, I almost wished I had some marking to do. That would keep me busy until class began. That or I could go home. I had to wonder how many people would actually show up to the last class of the last day. I certainly knew I didn't want to be here.

The bell rang and chairs scraped above my head, a flurry of feet hitting the corridor. It seemed children didn't skip as much as I had in my school years. It was a wonder I learned anything; I was rarely in.

A few seconds later the door opened and a group of girls entered, gossiping. I was surprised they were here; they weren't the dedicated type and most of them had failed my class.

That kind of pupil required a little work, to put it nicely. They didn't want to learn; seeming to view school as some sort of social event rather than a place of education. It had been difficult to be heard (never mind actually teach), at first, but I had quickly learned to split them up and confiscate phones on arrival.

My thoughts of dealing with rowdy students disappeared as Lilly and Tanya came through the open door. My eyes disobeyed me, the way they did so often in the presence of beautiful women. I tried to tear my gaze away but it would not go. My eyed moved to her face and she met my eyes, smiling. I looked away quickly, embarrassment breaking my stupor. I was filled with shame - this was no way for a teacher to act. My heart raced and I fought to bring it under control, clenching my fists and digging my nails to distract me.

'Not professional!' I scolded and slowed my breathing, trying to bring my racing pulse back under control.

The class was filling up now; I had to get my head sorted out.

When I dared to glance back at Lilly she was laughing at something Tanya had said. She didn't seem to have noticed me or, if she had, she didn't care. I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Come on, Laura," I urged, "teach the damn class then go home and relax."

Pushing all thoughts away I sorted through the movies. I read their names aloud and asked which they'd prefer.

Half the class screamed their choice at me, each reply drowned in a sea of contrasting preferences. I raised my hand and silence immediately followed.

"How about a vote?"

"I think Lilly should choose, Miss Hart," Tanya spoke up, "cos it's her birthday." I looked at Lilly, surprised.

"Is it your birthday?" She blushed a little and nodded. "How old are you then?"

"I'm eighteen," She said.

"Well, happy birthday," I smiled and she returned it. "Would you like to pick the movie?" She shook her head and turned bright red. "Come on, there must be something you want to watch." I prodded.

"No, there's...there's n-nothing." She stuttered, looking like she wanted to sink into the ground.

"Alright," I let it go, not wanting to pressure the poor girl, "let's vote."

***

The room was dark, the movie projected onto the board provided the only light. It was the perfect cover as I sat back in my seat watching the class, making sure no one was talking or sneakily trying to text someone. Not that I would actually take their phones off them, it was the last day and I was not cruel enough to keep anyone back longer than necessary. Mostly because I wanted out of here.

The room was almost completely silent, everyone totally focused on the movie.

Satisfied that no one was going to start world war three in my classroom, I turned my attention to the movie.

I was watching James Bond leap from a burning building when there was a strange sensation in my head. I reached my hand up to touch it when a voice, as soft as a feather, whispered, "can you hear me?"

I nearly jumped out of my skin and spilled coffee all down my front.

"Shit," I cursed quietly, jumping from my seat. It sounded as though someone had whispered into my ear, but there was no one beside me. What had that been? Had I just imagined it?

I wiped at the burning coffee, trying to get it off before it soaked in. When I looked up the entire class was staring at me. I sat back down slowly, praying there wasn't a large brown stain across my front, and carefully placed my coffee cup back on the desk.

"Just ignore me." I glared at them all until they looked back at the movie. Then I looked around the room carefully. Was anyone laughing? Or perhaps texting with a smirk on their face?

I didn't spot anything unusual. I'd probably imagined it. Maybe I'd had too much coffee today. I dug my nails deep into my palms. I couldn't get the voice out of my head. It had sounded female but I couldn't place it. Maybe it was just some weird kind of daydream. One that was very convincing. And had made me spill my survival juice.

Looked around the room again, I didn't want to believe that I had just imagined the voice. It had been so ... real. It had to have been one of my pupils playing a prank. They must have set up something to play into my ear or something. It was their last day, they would never be back here again, and someone just wanted to have some fun.

Then my head began to tingle, the way it had just a few minutes earlier, just before I heard the voice that was stressing me out.

I clenched my hands into fists, sternly surveying the room. Only one person was looking at me. Lilly Daniels.

My brow furrowed; she was one of the last people I would ever suspect to prank me. But I guess you never really knew; people could always surprise you.

She was staring at me so intently that it was actually creeping me out.

Her friend, Tanya, glanced over to me, then back to Lilly and smirked. I should have looked away then, stopped myself, but I couldn't. I didn't want to. Her blue eyes were hypnotising, drawing me in. Her look was scaring me and tempting me at the same time.

"H-hey," a voice again, whispering in my head. I reached up and touched my forehead gently, wondering if I was going insane.

Lilly's eyes widened and she looked away. Instantly my head felt fine.

Now that I knew who was messing around with me I easily placed the voice as Lilly's. I had to wonder how exactly she was doing this - the trick was so convincing I was half questioning my sanity. I was even considering telepathy, with a great amount of incredulity. Of course, I knew such a thing was impossible, but this was going to trouble me until I found out how she pulled it off.

The end of the day was approaching but it couldn't come quick enough for me.

I drew in a deep breath before switching off the movie and dismissing the class ten minutes early.

"Lilly, could you wait behind please?" I said, noticing how she tensed at the idea. She knew I wasn't going to let this slide and I was glad of that. I hadn't worked on my reputation all year for nothing.

"Brutal," Tanya whispered to her friend as she left. Lilly sent her a small smile which looked more like a grimace.

"Do you know why I kept you back?" I asked, standing and surveying her, keeping my face as blank and professional as possible.

The tingling which was becoming far too familiar flooded my head until she sighed and looked away. The feeling stopped, as it had the last time.

"You think I played some kind of trick on you." She sounded morose, although I couldn't work out why. Perhaps it was because she had been caught.

"Yes, I would like you to explain how you did that. Was it some kind of speaker?" Lilly shook her head and stared down at my desk; which she was picking at with her fingernails. "Then perhaps a bug or something?" I tried but she sighed heavily and shook her head again. "Then what?"

"You're not going to believe me if I tell you."

"How do you know that?"

"I heard it," she muttered.

"Try me."

She lifted her head then and stared at me, her bright blue eyes seeming to pierce through me.

"Telepathy."