Breathe (student/teacher)

Chapter 1

"Are you done yet, Alex?" I heard Ben knock on the door to my dorm room for what had to be the hundredth time in the past ten minutes. Hurriedly, I tied my navy and light blue striped uniform tie with shaking fingers. One would presume that after three years of attending the same boarding school, I would no longer be nervous at the idea of the first day of school. But this year was different. This was my senior year, and I was certain that far more would be expected of me this year than in years past.

I looked in the mirror one last time, fixing my straight blond hair and adjusting my plaid blue skirt. It always felt much too revealing, and I was a modest person. I didn't want to show that much skin.

"Come on, Alex, let's go!"

I opened the door quickly. "I'm ready," I said, rolling my eyes.

He pushed up his sleeve, peering down at his watch. "Yes, and it only took you eleven minutes and forty nine seconds. Now can we please go? I don't want to be late to class on the first day of school."

"And I thought I was the paranoid one," I said under my breath.

"What do you mean?"

I looked at him as I pushed open a set of doors and began my descent down the staircase. "Oh nothing. I just always thought I was the one who worried about grades or what people thought of me or-" I waved my hand in the air "-you know, getting to class on time. But evidently, Ben, it is you."

I tried to suppress a laugh as Ben took in what I had just said, but it could not be done. He looked at me with an expression of pure awe and confusion. "No way," he said in a scolding tone, pointing his finger at me. "There is no way I am weirder than you."

I giggled and he punched me lightly on the shoulder. "So what's your first hour?" He asked, peering over at my binder which held my schedule in the clear plastic slot on the front. I looked down, suddenly realizing that I had not yet taken the time to memorize my schedule or find out where any of my classes were located. I suddenly felt all too unprepared.

"I have Mr. Traynor," I said. "I've never heard of him before."

Ben shrugged. "Me either, but I have him second hour. Let me know how he is, alright?"

"Will do, Benjamin," I smirked. "Do you happen to know where is room is, by any chance?"

"Ah, I see how it is," Ben replied, looking straight ahead as we walked through the second set of double doors and into the hallway. I stopped, and he in turn did also, turning around to face me.

"You see how what is?" I asked, confused.

"Miss Alex Caraway doesn't know her way to class. What a change from the usual." He laughed, thinking he was so funny.

"You're not funny," I said blatantly, rolling my eyes at him. "Just shut up and tell me where the class is." I said this in a lighthearted manner.

"It's down by the business hallway," he replied politely, in contrast to the way I had phrased the question to which he was now responding.

"The business hallway?" A sense of sheer panic coursed through my veins.

"Yes, if I remember correctly that is what I just said," he said sarcastically.

"Oh come on, Ben, sarcasm is not helpful at the moment."

"Why? Sarcasm is always helpful," he smirked, tucking his hands into his pockets.

"It's usually less helpful than you believe."

"Alright fine." He held his hands up in self defense. "But why are you freaking out?"

I sighed. "Class starts in two minutes. It takes easily five or more to get to the business hallway." I groaned. "He teaches math anyway! Why is his classroom located in such an inconvenient spot?"

Ben chuckled. "You'd better get going, Caraway. You don't want to be late to class on the first day!"

He called after me as I raced down the hallway. Evidently, I wound up walking into class three minutes late. I was met by a class full of awed students who stared up at me as I stood in the doorway and an angry man with a bad disposition, his back turned toward me.

I sighed internally, thankful that he had not seen me strolling in late. I took a seat by the door.

"The polite thing, and correct thing, for that matter, to do would be explain why you are so late. Miss Caraway, I presume?" Mr. Traynor turned in my direction, his loud voice sending shockwaves through my body as he stared at me with piercing green eyes. How had he seen me? And how did he already know my name?

"I-I'm sorry," I stuttered. "It was unintentional. I tried to get here as fast as I could, which was apparently not fast enough, but I-"

He cut into my rambling. "For future reference, honesty is the best policy, Miss Caraway. I do not like students who make excuses for their mistakes. Nice try, but I will not have it." I looked at my hands which were folded in my lap. "I will see you in my room after school."

This caught my attention. I looked up at him. Seriously? It was the first day of school, and never in my school career had I received a detention, nor did I ever expect to for a reason as outrageous as this. "Are you kidding me?" I asked against my better judgement.

Mr. Traynor looked up at me from the stack of papers he had been counting out. "Is something problematic, Miss Caraway?"

"Yes, actually. Look, I'm sorry I was late, but it's the first day of school."

"Everyone else arrived here on time."

"Yes, but-"

"Listen, Miss Caraway, it is not the nature of the situation itself which as caused your detention. It is the way you handled it, attempting to make excuses rather than owning up to what you did. That is all I ask of you in this class."

"But-"

"My word is final, Alex."