Lessons in Sin

by Pam Godwin

Father Magnus’s classroom had been empty all morning, save for the man himself. For the past three hours, he sat in the row behind me, working on his laptop. He was so eerily quiet, so stock-still, I might’ve forgotten he was there. But that was impossible. His presence overwhelmed the very air, smothering it with his dark masculinity and the echo of his promise. It’ll be unpleasant. He was really playing up my impending punishment, drawing out the suspense and dread. It was working. I envisioned a physical beating with some kind of dungeon-like implement, one I would fight tooth and nail. I would do everything in my power to make him regret keeping me here. But deep in my gut, I was scared. Pulling in a breath, I turned to face him. “You finished?” His low, rich timbre vibrated through me as he lifted his eyes from his work. “Crushed it.” I’d considered not crushing it. If poor test scores meant more one-on-one time with Father Malicious, it would give me more opportunities to land a spot on his banned-from-Sion list. But I couldn’t do it. I didn’t care if I was perceived as disobedient, entitled, or promiscuous. But I couldn’t bear the thought of anyone thinking I was dumb. My pride could only take so many hits. He looked at his watch. “You still have forty minutes left. Most students run out of time during these tests.” “I don’t know what you want from me. I answered all the questions.” “If you didn’t do your best—” “Yeah, I know. More strikes. Geesh.” “Head to the dini...