RECAP:
She took in my confused expression and went on. “Oh, you must know Kyle Eberhardt! He’s like, the coolest dude ever. He appeared in so many blockbusters and has THE sexiest voice ever. And he’s only 23! I wish I could have a piece of that…” She sighed longingly, and just like in a cheesy movie, the girls seated in the centre around the magazine sighed along.
Um. Weird, much?
I decided to go and check it out myself. The girls handed me the magazine and I flipped to the cover to see just who they were talking about.
My eyes bugged when they landed on the man featured on the cover of the magazine.
Wasn’t that…?
**
I gaped at the glossy cover of the magazine, hoping that I was seeing things. The face smirked back at me, with the same bright eyes and tousled hair that I had loved so many years ago. Or rather, that I had thought I loved.
Something was wrong - my Kyle wasn’t an Eberhardt; he was a Bennett. But as I scrutinized the photo, I noticed the little things that I remembered from before, like the little mole at the side of his jaw, and the small scar poking out from under his hair, right above his left temple. This was definitely my Kyle - unless he had been cloned, I don’t think anyone would bear such close resemblance to him.
“So he’s famous now?” I mused to myself, an indescribable feeling washing over me. A sort of sadness, perhaps, that we’d lost contact for so long, and shock at his sudden appearance before me as a successful man with an entourage of fans.
“You know him?” Allison asked, a strange expression on her face.
Know him? I bit my lip. I’d known him. I just… didn’t know him anymore.
“Of course she knows him, he’s famous, like DUH!” Eliza scoffed, twirling her perfect blonde hair with her finger.
The girls all looked at me expectantly as I racked my brains for something to say.
“I… I don’t know a Kyle… Eberhardt.” I stuttered, looking back at the man on the magazine cover, feeling a small twinge deep in my heart.
Allison looked at me suspiciously, a small frown on her face. She opened her mouth and was about to say something, but the bell rung just then, and the students all filed out of class to their first period classrooms.
It took me a while to realise that I was still standing in the middle of the classroom, alone. Breathing a sigh, I walked over to my desk and slumped down in the swivel chair, leaning back and staring up at the ceiling.
Kyle…
The only guy I had ever loved, the guy who had dumped me to boost his popularity by dating a cheerleader. I laughed humorlessly to myself. Who knew that he’d come back and haunt me this way?
Shaking my head free of those thoughts, I slapped myself awake. Literally. After clutching my aching face in pain and checking in my compact mirror for signs of redness, I sat up resolutely.
So what if he was famous now? He was living his life, and I was living my own. I had forgotten about him for so long - my life definitely didn’t revolve around that jerk anymore. Bitter as I was about his success, I wouldn’t dwell upon it. With his elevated status, it was unlikely that I would ever have to meet him again, anyways.
Picking up my red pen, I focused back on marking the kids’ papers, dispelling all thoughts about a certain dark-haired, blue-eyed pop star.
**
“Miss Jay Woodson.”
I cracked open an eye to see a handsome blonde smirking down at me.
“Mr Reuben Keir.”
We had a short staring competition, his bright blue eyes to my single brown one. I was at the losing end. Hey, it’s difficult to keep just one eye open for long periods of time…
When my eye finally turned dry and I couldn’t help but blink, Reuben let out a chuckle and made to sit down. Feeling a dip in the couch, I sat up a little straighter and turned to face my colleague, yawning slightly and rubbing my eyes. The awkward position that I had just been half-lying in made my back slightly sore.
“So what’s a pretty young teacher like yourself doing sitting alone in the teacher’s lounge?” Reuben draped his arms across the backrest and the sidearm of the sofa, leaning back into the corner.
“Mr Keir…”
“I’ve told you to call me Reuben.”
“Okay. Reuben. I was trying to get some rest.” I said honestly, feeling another yawn approaching. It was only the 3rd week of school and I was already feeling a little lethargic.
“Why, naughty students keeping their teacher up late at night?” Reuben asked innocently.
My eyes opened wide as I registered the innuendo. Narrowing my eyes at my grinning co-worker, I huffed. “It-It’s not l-like that! I was up marking!”
“I didn’t say it was like that.” He smirked.
“You were obviously implying it.” I rolled my eyes.
He waved me off. “Yeah, yeah…”
After a moments’ silence, he spoke again. “I know how tough it is being a young teacher at your first job. The first few months are painful, there’s so much to get used to, but you’ll get used to it. Young’uns these days, so adaptable…”
I stifled a giggle as he pretended to stroke his nonexistent beard. Reuben was only a few years older than me, as far as I could tell. “It’s okay, Grandpa.” Patting his shoulder awkwardly, I laughed aloud when he turned to me with an offended look on his face.
“Why don’t I take you out for dinner and give you some tips? Since we work together it’d be nice to get to know each other too.” Reuben suggested.
I gaped. Dinner? “Like… on a d-date?” I asked uncertainly, studying his face for any sign of mischief.
“Yes… It’s called a ‘dinner date’.” He looked at me oddly.
“You plus me plus dinner?” He added as an afterthought, alluding to the subject I taught.
Finally realizing that there was a cute guy asking me out and here I was just staring at him with my mouth hanging slightly open in an extremely unattractive manner, I abruptly shut my mouth and nodded my head vigorously, not trusting my mouth to say anything.
Patting me on the head affectionately like a father would a child, Reuben stood and walked towards the staffroom door. “Well, I’ll see you a little later then. I’ll wait for you outside your classroom after your last class.” With a little salute and another charming smile, he left the room and the door swung closed.
I slumped back into the plush sofa. That was strange. Reuben was cute and all, but I had never really thought of him as a potential love interested. Maybe he didn’t understand the word ‘date’, cause he sure didn’t look interested in me THAT way either. But I guess I’d just have to find out later…
**
Trying my best to ignore the curious faces of the students milling around in the carpark, I scuttled behind Reuben as we made our way to his car and studied him as he walked. Reuben was obviously one of those teachers that made girls swoon - he had the most charming smile and the most adorable face. He was tall, though not too much taller than me in heels, and dressed in a smart-casual way and actually made it look good. I sighed in slight jealousy, all these lucky people and their spanking good looks…
He suddenly stopped and turned around, a bright smile on his face as he presented to me his ‘baby’.
“Jay, meet Robin.”
“You name your car?” I raised an eyebrow, feeling slightly awed as I took in his sleek black Audi. Cool shit. I had a slight fear of driving due to my tendency for recklessness and hence accidents, but I loved the look of cars. Running my fingers over the side of the hood lightly, I revelled in the cool metal feel at my fingertips.
“Doesn’t everyone?” He brushed it off. “Now say ‘Hello, Robin. Nice to meet you!’ and get in.”
I gave him a look. “Are you serious.”
“Yes.” He said impatiently, tapping his foot against the ground. “Just say it!”
“Do I have to…” I whined, my hand playing with the handle, hoping to catch him off guard and slip in without being stopped.
He noticed this and quickly snatched up my hand. Softly rubbing my hand with his thumb, he looked at me very seriously and said, “Please say it. Respect Robin. She’s very important to me.” I could see the hint of humour in his eyes as he struggled not to laugh.
Knowing full well he was just making me say it for fun, but also pretty sure that he wouldn’t let it go until I did, I pouted. “You act like such a child for you age, Grandpa,” I scolded, then sighed and turned towards his car.
“Hello, Robin. Uh. Nice to meet you.”
This gained me a light ruffle of the hair from Reuben as he let go of my hand and walked quickly to the other side. “Last one in is a rotten egg!” He sang.
My slow reaction cost me, as usual.
**
My dinner ‘date’ with Reubs had gone pleasantly. Who knew we had so much in common? We talked about everything, from books to cars to plants and even past relationships. By the end of the night, we were like the best of friends, not people who had just met 2 weeks ago. Reubs was such a sweetie, but we both knew that it was a purely platonic relationship.
We had talked for so long that by the time I made it home, it was already 1 in the morning, and I slumped into bed shortly after bathing.
Which was why I turned up in school the next day feeling like my head was going to crack open. Tottering from the staffroom to my classroom, I pushed open the classroom door tiredly, only to be blinded by a bright flash.
“What the hell, Josiah?” Cranky from my lack of sleep and just tired as a whole, I glared at the boy, who held a Nikon DSLR in his hand.
“Oh, Miss Woodson, you have to see this!” One of the preppy girls shuffled up to the teacher’s desk and tampered with the computer while another ushered me to a seat in the front row. I looked around at all the students oddly; Most of them were staring at me with a look of… reverence?
Confused, I focused my eyes on the projector screen as the ‘play’ button of a video was clicked.
Kyle appeared on the screen, sitting on the stool and facing a blonde woman holding a microphone. My eyes narrowed when I saw him.
“Look, guys, I know I’m pretty lax with you guys but there will be no watching of celebrity interviews during-” I made to stand up and stop the video.
“You have to listen to this! Please?” Eliza the cheerleader looked at me pleadingly.
Taken aback by the intensity of her tone of voice, I sat back down.
Taking that as her cue to continue playing the video, the girl clicked play again, and ran to dim the lights.
Settling back in my seat, I watched the screen with a blank expression. Why would anything HE had to say interest me? Yet, at the same time, I was curious. What would Kyle sound like after all these years?
Little did I know how this little video was going to turn my life upside down.
**
RECAP:
She took in my confused expression and went on. “Oh, you must know Kyle Eberhardt! He’s like, the coolest dude ever. He appeared in so many blockbusters and has THE sexiest voice ever. And he’s only 23! I wish I could have a piece of that…” She sighed longingly, and just like in a cheesy movie, the girls seated in the centre around the magazine sighed along.
Um. Weird, much?
I decided to go and check it out myself. The girls handed me the magazine and I flipped to the cover to see just who they were talking about.
My eyes bugged when they landed on the man featured on the cover of the magazine.
Wasn’t that…?
**
I gaped at the glossy cover of the magazine, hoping that I was seeing things. The face smirked back at me, with the same bright eyes and tousled hair that I had loved so many years ago. Or rather, that I had thought I loved.
Something was wrong - my Kyle wasn’t an Eberhardt; he was a Bennett. But as I scrutinized the photo, I noticed the little things that I remembered from before, like the little mole at the side of his jaw, and the small scar poking out from under his hair, right above his left temple. This was definitely my Kyle - unless he had been cloned, I don’t think anyone would bear such close resemblance to him.
“So he’s famous now?” I mused to myself, an indescribable feeling washing over me. A sort of sadness, perhaps, that we’d lost contact for so long, and shock at his sudden appearance before me as a successful man with an entourage of fans.
“You know him?” Allison asked, a strange expression on her face.
Know him? I bit my lip. I’d known him. I just… didn’t know him anymore.
“Of course she knows him, he’s famous, like DUH!” Eliza scoffed, twirling her perfect blonde hair with her finger.
The girls all looked at me expectantly as I racked my brains for something to say.
“I… I don’t know a Kyle… Eberhardt.” I stuttered, looking back at the man on the magazine cover, feeling a small twinge deep in my heart.
Allison looked at me suspiciously, a small frown on her face. She opened her mouth and was about to say something, but the bell rung just then, and the students all filed out of class to their first period classrooms.
It took me a while to realise that I was still standing in the middle of the classroom, alone. Breathing a sigh, I walked over to my desk and slumped down in the swivel chair, leaning back and staring up at the ceiling.
Kyle…
The only guy I had ever loved, the guy who had dumped me to boost his popularity by dating a cheerleader. I laughed humorlessly to myself. Who knew that he’d come back and haunt me this way?
Shaking my head free of those thoughts, I slapped myself awake. Literally. After clutching my aching face in pain and checking in my compact mirror for signs of redness, I sat up resolutely.
So what if he was famous now? He was living his life, and I was living my own. I had forgotten about him for so long - my life definitely didn’t revolve around that jerk anymore. Bitter as I was about his success, I wouldn’t dwell upon it. With his elevated status, it was unlikely that I would ever have to meet him again, anyways.
Picking up my red pen, I focused back on marking the kids’ papers, dispelling all thoughts about a certain dark-haired, blue-eyed pop star.
**
“Miss Jay Woodson.”
I cracked open an eye to see a handsome blonde smirking down at me.
“Mr Reuben Keir.”
We had a short staring competition, his bright blue eyes to my single brown one. I was at the losing end. Hey, it’s difficult to keep just one eye open for long periods of time…
When my eye finally turned dry and I couldn’t help but blink, Reuben let out a chuckle and made to sit down. Feeling a dip in the couch, I sat up a little straighter and turned to face my colleague, yawning slightly and rubbing my eyes. The awkward position that I had just been half-lying in made my back slightly sore.
“So what’s a pretty young teacher like yourself doing sitting alone in the teacher’s lounge?” Reuben draped his arms across the backrest and the sidearm of the sofa, leaning back into the corner.
“Mr Keir…”
“I’ve told you to call me Reuben.”
“Okay. Reuben. I was trying to get some rest.” I said honestly, feeling another yawn approaching. It was only the 3rd week of school and I was already feeling a little lethargic.
“Why, naughty students keeping their teacher up late at night?” Reuben asked innocently.
My eyes opened wide as I registered the innuendo. Narrowing my eyes at my grinning co-worker, I huffed. “It-It’s not l-like that! I was up marking!”
“I didn’t say it was like that.” He smirked.
“You were obviously implying it.” I rolled my eyes.
He waved me off. “Yeah, yeah…”
After a moments’ silence, he spoke again. “I know how tough it is being a young teacher at your first job. The first few months are painful, there’s so much to get used to, but you’ll get used to it. Young’uns these days, so adaptable…”
I stifled a giggle as he pretended to stroke his non-existent beard. Reuben was only a few years older than me, as far as I could tell. “It’s okay, Grandpa.” Patting his shoulder awkwardly, I laughed aloud when he turned to me with an offended look on his face.
“Why don’t I take you out for dinner and give you some tips? Since we work together it’d be nice to get to know each other too.” Reuben suggested.
I gaped. Dinner? “Like… on a d-date?” I asked uncertainly, studying his face for any sign of mischief.
“Yes… It’s called a ‘dinner date’.” He looked at me oddly.
“You plus me plus dinner?” He added as an afterthought, alluding to the subject I taught.
Finally realizing that there was a cute guy asking me out and here I was just staring at him with my mouth hanging slightly open in an extremely unattractive manner, I abruptly shut my mouth and nodded my head vigorously, not trusting my mouth to say anything.
Patting me on the head affectionately like a father would a child, Reuben stood and walked towards the staffroom door. “Well, I’ll see you a little later then. I’ll wait for you outside your classroom after your last class.” With a little salute and another charming smile, he left the room and the door swung closed.
I slumped back into the plush sofa. That was strange. Reuben was cute and all, but I had never really thought of him as a potential love interested. Maybe he didn’t understand the word ‘date’, cause he sure didn’t look interested in me THAT way either. But I guess I’d just have to find out later…
**
Trying my best to ignore the curious faces of the students milling around in the carpark, I scuttled behind Reuben as we made our way to his car and studied him as he walked. Reuben was obviously one of those teachers that made girls swoon - he had the most charming smile and the most adorable face. He was tall, though not too much taller than me in heels, and dressed in a smart-casual way and actually made it look good. I sighed in slight jealousy, all these lucky people and their spanking good looks…
He suddenly stopped and turned around, a bright smile on his face as he presented to me his ‘baby’.
“Jay, meet Robin.”
“You name your car?” I raised an eyebrow, feeling slightly awed as I took in his sleek black Audi. Cool shit. I had a slight fear of driving due to my tendency for recklessness and hence accidents, but I loved the look of cars. Running my fingers over the side of the hood lightly, I revelled in the cool metal feel at my fingertips.
“Doesn’t everyone?” He brushed it off. “Now say ‘Hello, Robin. Nice to meet you!’ and get in.”
I gave him a look. “Are you serious.”
“Yes.” He said impatiently, tapping his foot against the ground. “Just say it!”
“Do I have to…” I whined, my hand playing with the handle, hoping to catch him off guard and slip in without being stopped.
He noticed this and quickly snatched up my hand. Softly rubbing my hand with his thumb, he looked at me very seriously and said, “Please say it. Respect Robin. She’s very important to me.” I could see the hint of humour in his eyes as he struggled not to laugh.
Knowing full well he was just making me say it for fun, but also pretty sure that he wouldn’t let it go until I did, I pouted. “You act like such a child for you age, Grandpa,” I scolded, then sighed and turned towards his car.
“Hello, Robin. Uh. Nice to meet you.”
This gained me a light ruffle of the hair from Reuben as he let go of my hand and walked quickly to the other side. “Last one in is a rotten egg!” He sang.
My slow reaction cost me, as usual.
**
My dinner ‘date’ with Reubs had gone pleasantly. Who knew we had so much in common? We talked about everything, from books to cars to plants and even past relationships. By the end of the night, we were like the best of friends, not people who had just met 2 weeks ago. Reuben was such a sweetie, but we both knew that it was a purely platonic relationship.
We had talked for so long that by the time I made it home, it was already 1 in the morning, and I slumped into bed shortly after bathing.
Which was why I turned up in school the next day feeling like my head was going to crack open. Tottering from the staffroom to my classroom, I pushed open the classroom door tiredly, only to be blinded by a bright flash.
“What the hell, Josiah?” Cranky from my lack of sleep and just tired as a whole, I glared at the boy, who held a Nikon DSLR in his hand.
“Oh, Miss Woodson, you have to see this!” One of the preppy girls shuffled up to the teacher’s desk and tampered with the computer while another ushered me to a seat in the front row. I looked around at all the students oddly; Most of them were staring at me with a look of… reverence?
Confused, I focused my eyes on the projector screen as the ‘play’ button of a video was clicked.
Kyle appeared on the screen, sitting on the stool and facing a blonde woman holding a microphone. My eyes narrowed when I saw him.
“Look, guys, I know I’m pretty lax with you guys but there will be no watching of celebrity interviews during-” I made to stand up and stop the video.
“You have to listen to this! Please?” Eliza the cheerleader looked at me pleadingly.
Taken aback by the intensity of her tone of voice, I sat back down.
Taking that as her cue to continue playing the video, the girl clicked play again, and ran to dim the lights.
Settling back in my seat, I watched the screen with a blank expression. Why would anything HE had to say interest me? Yet, at the same time, I was curious. What would Kyle sound like after all these years?
Little did I know how this little video was going to turn my life upside down.
**
Sorry for the late update! I swear this was already written up 3 days ago but I couldn't upload it. Anyways, enjoy (:
Vote, comment, fan if you like!