Falling For Henry Cavill

Changes

I was two weeks in my new employment at the zoo when I realized that working there was not much different from my chosen career. Going from teaching students acting to cleaning and taking care of the animals at the zoo was not as different as one may think. Apart from the lesson planning and the occasional workshops, teaching and working at the zoo had some similarities that made the switch less worrisome. It was during this time that I received a message from a parent on my tutoring profile. I accepted it to start the next day. My shift at the zoo was somewhat unlike my schedule at school in that I went in at 6:00 a.m. instead of 8:00 am and ended at 4:00 p.m. instead of 3:00 pm. My lunch break was bliss as I had an hour to myself rather than having to look over my shoulder every fifteen seconds to check if students were behaving or not.

It was a dramatic yet nice change to my schedule. It was also serendipitous that the time I was to tutor my student was around the time I was finishing work at the zoo. This would be perfect as I needed both jobs to be able to keep living where I was even with Maggie's help. I had enough time when I arrived from work to make and eat dinner and then get online to tutor Ming- my student. Maggie was home by that time and was there on my first session. I was a bit nervous myself and decided to have her stay in the living room with me. I was most worried about not being able to communicate effectively with him. It was rough that first night. I was expressive, animated, spoke clearly and slowly. This helped us some and despite the fact that there were times that he did not understand what I was saying, and that I repeated myself too much we were able to communicate somehow. I waved and said goodbye at the end of the session and he waved and repeated after me.

Maggie could not stop laughing at me and the ridiculous maneuvers during the session. I told her that that would be the first and last session she was allowed to watch- ever! I did join in and laughed with her for a while and then spoke about what worked and what did not. It was great to hear him repeat the words after me and the light in his face when he made connections to learn what a word meant. I realized that no matter what I would always enjoy teaching and helping students obtain a knowledge of something that they did not know before. John came over to the house to talk. He stayed for far too long and then I realized that he had to leave so that I could go to sleep early and get to work on time.

A few weeks into the lessons, I noticed Ming's progression from basic English words into more difficult ones and into creating phrases. I could tell he was understanding basic sentence structure and conversational English. His advancement surprised me. He was able to hold small talk with me. At the same time, my hours at the zoo were getting a little longer because we had to set things up for the Durrell challenge. The biggest event of the year at the zoo and the one that brought the most funds from all over the world to help conserve the wild life. This put me at getting home an hour later and barely getting any time for dinner until my sessions with Ming. I hurriedly shopped for something that I could throw in the microwave and ferociously gobbled it in a matter of minutes just to make the session on time, but I had a minor setback as I stepped out of the vehicle with bags of groceries hanging from my arms.

I decided to book it to the house when I came upon a man in shorts, a cap, and a blue muscle shirt. He blocked my way. With my head down so as not to meet his eyes, we walked to the same side at the same time for a while until I felt his warm hands on each of my arms and placed me on the opposite side which he stood. When I looked up and sheepishly whispered, "I am sorry." His blue eyes met mine briefly. I could not speak and I was sure that I was blushing. When I finally decided to say something he smiled. He noticed the bags that were hanging off my arms and said, " Here, let me help." As he did, he took the bags from my arms and hands and took them as if they did not weight much. "Lead the way." He declared with his commanding tone. Quietly and obediently I walked towards the house without the same speed that I had used earlier. I marveled at his willingness to help a stranger. In awe of his gallantry, i was struck by him and his way to put me at ease so effortlessly as we walked towards my house. As soon as he started walking beside me, he asked If i had lived there long. I replied that I had lived there for five years and then I asked how long he had been living there in return. He answered that he had been there for six years.

I wondered aloud and without thinking how our paths had not crossed before. He explained that his line of job required him to stay gone for long periods of time to which I responded that it made sense. When we reached the apartment, I unlocked the door as he patiently waited beside me and I ventured to ask if he was going to be leaving again soon without realizing that I was prying. As we went in I realized what I had just asked and quickly assured him that he did not have to tell me anything that I had asked out of mere habit of asking questions during a conversation to keep it going. He laughed then asked where I wanted the groceries. I told him to set them on the table. He did so and as he did he said that he would be here for a short period of time for a charity event at the zoo on the island. My eyebrows rose in astonishment. I knew exactly what he was talking about. "You mean the Durrell Challenge?" I asked astonished . "That's the one!" He exclaimed. He then asked if I needed help putting up groceries. This surprised me. If he was as busy as he said he was why was he asking to help me put up groceries. This took up my thoughts so it took me several seconds to reply. "Thank you, but I have to get online and tutor someone in 20 minutes." I finally replied. "Well, then you really need my help. "I'll put up the things that go in the ice box because, well, there's no need to tell me where anything goes, and you can put your dinner in the microwave so you can get some nourishment before your tutoring session." He immediately began to unpack groceries and said there was no need to let good food go to waste. I opened my frozen meal, cooked it in the microwave on high for 3 minutes and then scuffed it in a matter of 6 minutes or less. "That can't be good." He told me as I finished my meal. "What?" I questioned giving him a confused look. "Eating your meal that fast." He stated as he finished putting up the groceries into the fridge.

"Well, I can't eat it in front of the kid now. Can I? I quickly went into the living room and turned the computer on. "Besides, I am supposed to be on 10 minutes before class begins and its already..." I looked at the time on my phone and yelled, "Five minutes!" I could not believe how fast the time had gone by. I moved the mouse frantically hoping this would make the computer come on quicker. He was near the door and said, " I'll let you get on with your lesson. See you around?" I was not expecting him to ask that. I turned to him and smiled nervously and a small sure came out. He smiled back and said goodbye as he opened the door and then left. After my session with Ming, who had been waiting for me when I got online, I laid down and went to sleep recalling his voice in my ears saying, " see you around?" Then I realized I did not get his name and I hadn't given him mine either. How weird.