Crush on a Church Boy

Chapter Two

Tekinya lifted her head for a second as Derek walked into the classroom. After talking with her friends, she began to wonder, "Do I like him like that?" He looked at her, she smiled and waved, like she normally did, and went back to her work.

She noticed Derek walked up to the teacher and started talking to him. They often conversed before class. For some reason, she was more curious than ever to know what they were talking about. She didn't sit far off from the teacher's desk. She put in her earbuds but didn't turn on her music up on her phone to listen in on what they could be talking about.

"I don't know, Mr. Addams." Derek said in a soft, partially stressed voice. "I want to but...what if this is all a mistake? I mean, I feel myself being pulled to her and I can't understand why."

"Is he talking about me?" Tekinya wondered to herself.

"If you feel like that's where God is leading you, then that's where you go. I know she is a very bright and wonderful student, but I know of her reputation in and out of school. I'm sure you do as well. Maybe you should pray about it." Mr. Addams suggested.

"I will. Thank you so much, sir. And the food you made for the church on Saturday was great by the way." Derek said before taking his seat as the bell had rung and kids were rushing into class.

As class began and the day's lesson was being taught, Tekinya couldn't get her mind off of what she heard. She tried to focus, but her mind continued to wonder off about if she was the subject of Derek and Mr. Addams' conversation. She began to feel her head pound and her temples began to ache.

"Mr. Addams, may I be excused to the restroom?" She asked with her hand raised. Little to her knowledge, she looked just like she felt -- like she was in pain.

"Yes, Ms. Usidan. Are you alright?" Mr. Addams asked in a concerned tone.

"Yes, sir." She quickly uttered before rushing out of the room. She went to the bathroom, sat against the wall, and put her head into her hands. After several minutes, someone was sent to check up on Tekinya. After the student left the bathroom, Tekinya decided to head back to class, despite her headache not getting any better.

Tekinya entered the classroom to have everyone look at her. She kept her eye contact to the ground as she sat at her seat. She slowly turned her head towards Derek.

"You okay?" He inaudibly mouthed to her. Tekinya nodded and smiled at him before looking down at her work and rubbed her temples in an attempt to lessen the pounding of her head.

"Okay, class, so for this assignment, I'm going to need everyone to group up in groups of two to four students. This is not optional, you need more than one person." Mr. Addams stated. Some of the students groaned, others quickly moved next to their friends.

Tekinya noticed that no one wanted to partner up with Derek. Typical. Derek was often persecuted or just casted to the side, simply because of how public he was for his beliefs. This is something Tekinya couldn't stand to see, and it infuriated her greatly. Tekinya decided to grab her belongings and move to work with Derek.

"Hi." She said as she sat in an empty desk near him. "I saw you didn't have a partner, so here I am." She said with a smile.

"Well, that's cool." Derek said as he quickly moved a piece of paper from off his desk and looked at Tekinya with a friendly smile.

The two mainly discussed their work, quickly finishing their assignment. It was only a few minutes left in class. Tekinya never truly had a real conversation with Derek before, so why not try to start now?

"So, you seem to be best friends with the teacher." Tekinya said softly. She had no idea what else to say.

"Yeah, well, he goes to church with me. He's known me for longer than he's been my teacher." Derek stated, looking at Tekinya as he spoke.

"Ah, that makes sense. You tend to grow up with people when you go to church." Tekinya said. She was horrible at conversing with people sometimes.

"You go to church?" Derek asked, trying not to sound surprised.

"Used to. My parents and my grandmother still do, but I stopped going a few years back." Tekinya said with a shrug. "I grew up in church, sung in the choir with my mom and grandma, did some praise dances here and there, but it just wasn't for me, you know?" She shrugged before looking away. Derek didn't respond for a moment.

"Well, I won't say I expected that from you, but it's a fun fact to know." Derek said with a smile.

"So, I have a question." Tekinya said with a soft smile of her own.

"And I have an answer. Shoot." Derek said as he started packing his things up. Tekinya did the same.

"Are you going to prom?" She asked him. This made Derek pause for a second. He put his backpack on and the bell rang, signaling the end of class.

"Well, I'm not sure yet." Derek answered. He waited on Tekinya and they walked out of class together. "How about you?"

"Oh, of course. It's a must." Tekinya said with a wide smile. "All I need is a date." She said as they walked to their respective classes.

"I'm sure you'll get one before the day of." Derek reassured her. "It may be who you least expect to ask you." He said with a shrug.

"Yeah, just wish they would hurry up. I don't like to be kept wondering." Tekinya said as she looked over at Derek.

"Well, this is my class." Derek pointed to a class. "See you in the next class." He said as he waved her off. "Goodbye, Tekinya." He said as he entered the classroom.

"Bye, Derek." Tekinya waves back before going to her next class: chorus.