It was finally October. The trees were decorated in vibrant specks of red, yellow and orange. They were scattered across the roads and resting on top of cars and roofs.
The chilly breeze lulled everybody along, the same routine day by day. The cut on my knee has faded after a few days, leaving a scar in its wake.
I sat sleepily in Mr. Lee's class, a chatter falling upon the room as Mr. Lee wrote down notes on the smart-board, his arm muscles flexing through his white button-down shirt.
I had skipped a few days after Mr. Lee and I had kissed. How could I not skip? What student kisses their teacher? And where the hell did I get that confidence from? I couldn't sleep or eat and every time I closed my eyes, I felt the sensation of his lips on mine, even if the actual kiss had only lasted a beautiful few seconds.
I hadn't dared to lock eyes with Mr. Lee. The tension in the classroom was suffocating the both of us and even the tiniest look at him would send me into hysterics.
Mr. Lee looked completely and utterly stressed out. It was as if he attempted to look presentable, but today was just not his day. That wasn't saying he looked unattractive today, which he never did, but his eyes were bloodshot and his hair was worse than its' usual disheveled state- it just looked all over the place. Rather thick stubble dusted his lower chin and every once in a while he would swipe his hand against it, as if he were lost in thought.
However, I wasn't the only student that observed his lack of energy today. Most of the students respectfully did as they were told, where on a usual day they would chat next to each other sometimes a little too loudly and Mr. Lee would have to quiet them down. Thankfully, for the most part it seemed that Mr. Lee usually received respect from the students.
"Mr. Lee?" A girl in the back of the classroom asked, her hand raised.
"Yes Jessica?" Mr. Lee's hand stopped writing, his head still facing the electronic board.
"Are you alright? You're usually more cheerful."
He turned around and his eyes found her, but they slowly rotated over to me. I slid down in my seat and let my short hair fall over my face.
"I'm fine. Thank you for asking." He tore his gaze away from me and his eyes settled on the class. "Thank you all for cooperating with me today. I really appreciate it."
The students murmured you're-welcome's and I sat there completely dumbfounded, my eyes glued to the corner of my desk where pen marks were etched into a curse word followed by an undesirable and inappropriate drawing.
Could it be because of me? I couldn't possibly be the reason for his stress. He had a life outside of school- it had to be something outside of school. Perhaps a family member died or his girlfriend and him got into an argument. That was if he had a girlfriend, but I doubted he didn't have one. Someone as wonderful as him had to have a girlfriend.
When my thoughts caused time to pass rather quickly, I was the first one out the door, my gaze purposely concentrated on only what was in front of me.
With my plain salad in hand in the lunchroom, I anxiously sat down at the round table as Vera licked the salt from whatever type of chip off her fingers. It took her more than a few seconds to notice me, but when she did a huge smile broke out on her lips.
"Poppy!" She practically cheered, maybe a little too loudly. I felt other eyes fall upon me, my cheeks impulsively heating up. I fiddled with my fingers from under the table, my notepad firmly tucked in the sleeve of my sweater.
"How's your knee?"
I slipped out my notepad and began to write. It's doing better, I wrote.
She gazed at my letters. "It's good to have you back. Not just from you missing a few days, but from not talking to you. I've missed you a lot."
Truth be told, I missed her too. I missed having a friend, even if I didn't vocally communicate with her.
I missed you too, I wrote.
She smiled at me and the rest of lunch breezed by. I had a staring contest with a sand-colored wall in the cafeteria as I ate my salad, my earphones blasting music in my ears. Vera tapped away on her phone, the usual bag of chips opened and facing in her direction. The fact that she was skinny completely puzzled me because she scarfed down food like a homeless person.
When seventh period arrived, I wrote out my goodbye to Vera and traveled through the hallways as giddy freshman bumped into my sides and sophomores, juniors and seniors flew past my vision.
As I was walking on the third floor to Mr. Lee's classroom, a man fell into step with me and I immediately tensed up, my steps growing faster and faster. The hallway was quiet now, the beginning of lessons seeping through the cracks of the closed classroom doors.
"Poppy, it's a pleasure to see you. I only see you during my third period class. Where are you headed?"
I turned and was greeted with a smiling Mr. Elliot. I slowly slid out my notepad, his eyes watching my every move as our steps grew slower so I could scribble my reply. I couldn't help but feel violated, for his eyes felt like they were looking past my clothing. Perhaps I was just paranoid, but either way he made me uncomfortable. His third period class had always been very independent and crowded with students, so Mr. Elliot and I having this conversation wasn't exactly of the normalcy.
I am going to Mr. Lee's classroom, I wrote.
"What for, may I ask?" He catechized.
I contemplated on what to say. Mr. Elliot obviously didn't like Mr. Lee, so I felt that saying I was either going to sleep or hang out wouldn't exactly feel right.
Extra help, I jotted down a lie, his eyes following my letters.
"I see," he said lowly. "And what is your grade in that class? From what I checked on your progress report, you had an exact ninety-seven."
I let out a muffled sound in my throat, my heart already beating with fear. I heard my blood roar in my ears as I thought of what to say. His eyes were glued to my face, awaiting for my response.
I like to shrive for the best, I wrote. That sounded extremely fake, but I couldn't think of anything else.
"I'm afraid my class is the only one you don't have an A in," he said, his phone in front of his face as he examined what I assumed was my virtual progress report. "Why don't you come to my classroom next period for some tutoring?" A devious smile outlined his lips and I truly felt like gagging. I nodded submissively, every bone in my body feeling as if it were going to collapse from fear. My palms began to shake.
"See you then, Poppy Rose." And as we reached Mr. Lee's door, he opened it up for me and I walked in quickly, where Mr. Lee harshly eyed a grinning Mr. Elliot as he walked away.
"Mr. Lee," I whispered, which came out between a sigh and a whine as I quickly shuffled over to him. He looked down at me with ocean eyes.
"What were you two talking about?"
I scribbled on my notepad shakily. His fingers touched my arms to steady me as I wrote. His fingers ignited an intensity between the two of our bodies that could fit perfectly together.
He wants me to go to him next period for extra help. I can't just not go, he is my teacher. I wrote.
"Shit," Mr. Lee muttered, his bloodshot eyes closing as he scratched his stubbly chin. I helplessly gazed up at him. His eyes were flaming with anger.
"What do I do?" I whispered hoarsely.
"You will go. He has authority over you but if he touches you or makes you uncomfortable in any way, you run and you scream. I will be around the hallways. Mr. Elliot is friends with the principal, which is why he is not fired from looking at students in a far too sexual manner." He said, stress outlining his facial features.
I smiled at the thought that although Mr. Lee and I had kissed, not once has he degraded me like Mr. Elliot has been said to do. Mr. Lee had respect.
"Okay," I murmured. My hands itched to touch him, but I listened to my conscience and sat at a desk as he sat back at his, and we looked at each other with doleful eyes. Our energy remained in the air, hanging above us as if the devil was tempting us with a fog of euphoria that we simply weren't allowed to breathe in.