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"You’re not going to have her introduce herself?" Eddie asks
"We’ll get to that another time" Will raises up a stack of papers "Tests"
I’et in front of the class and speak It’s the last thing I would be able to do right now It feels like there is a ball of cotton in my throat as I unsuccessfully try to s
"Lake," he hesitates, and then clears his throat, realizing his slip "Layken, if you have so a chapter test"
"I’d rather just take the test," I say I have to focus on so
Will hands me a test, and in the time it takes to complete it I doI’ll find momentary respite froh, but keep erasing and rewriting answers just to avoid having to deal with the obvious; the fact that the boy I was falling in love with is now s, I watch as the rest of the class files toward Will’s desk, laying their papers face down in a pile Eddie lays hers down and walks to et your lunch switched?"
"Yeah, I did," I tell her
"Sweet I’ll save you a seat," she says as she turns to leave She stops at Will’s desk and he looks up at her She removes a red tin from her purse and pulls out a small handful of mints and sets thely at theassuh for overs" She pushes the ain, just like that, she’s gone
Will and I are the only ones left in the classroom at this point I need to talk to him so bad I have so rabit on top of the stack
"Is my mood that obvious?" he asks as he continues to stare at the rab two of the altoids and walk out of the rooate the halls searching for my fourth period class, I see a bathroom and quickly duck inside I decide to spend the remainder of fourth period andEddie is waiting on ht now Instead, I spend the entire ti on the walls of the stall, doing h the rest of the day without bursting out in tears
My last two classes are a blur Luckily, neither of those teachers seem interested in my ‘about me’ either I don’t speak to anyone and no one speaks to ned homework My mind is consumed by this whole situation
I walk tofor et with the lock butso bad I drop theive myself time to reflect as I throw the car in reverse and head hoht now is ine I don’t want to face Kel or my mother yet, so I kick in to cry I replay everything over in my head How did I spend so much ti as big as an occupation not come up in conversation? Or better yet, how did I do soand fail to ry at the whole situation I told him so much aboutdownhard to conceal ood at it Up until six o, I hardly had reason to cry My life back in Texas was siroup of friends, a school I loved and even a ho my father’s death until I realized Kel and my mother would not be able toa conscious effort to be involved in Kel's life more Our father was also his best friend at the tiot involved in youth baseball, his karate lessons and even cub scouts; all the things my dad used to do with hi eventually started to subside
Until today
A tap on the passengerbrings e it I don't want to see anyone, let alone speak to anyone I look over and see so visible is their torso…and faculty ID
I flip the visor down and wipe the mascara from my eyes I divert my attention out the driver sideas I press the autonorin
Will slides into the passenger seat and shuts the door He lays the seat back a few inches and sighs, but says nothing I don't think either of us knohat to say at this point
I look over at hi on the dash and he's stiff against the seat with his ar directly at the note he wrote this uess he made it by four o'clock after all
"What are you thinking?" he asks
I sit up and turn toward hi it with my arms "I’m confused as hell, Will I don’t knohat to think!"
He sighs and turns to look out the passenger"I’m sorry This is all ree "In order for there to be fault, there has to be some sort of conscious decision You didn’t know, Will"
He sits up and turns to face me "That’s just it, Lake I should have known I’m in an occupation that doesn’t just require ethics inside the classroom, they apply to all aspects ofhteen, I just assuhteen for teeks," I reply I don’t knohy I felt the need to clarify that After I say it I realize it sounds like I’ hiry at him too This was an outcome that neither of us could have possibly predicted
"I student teach," he says as he begins to explain "Sort of"
"Sort of?" I ask
"After h credits to graduate a semester early Since the school was so short-handed, they offered me a one year contract I have threeAfter that I'h June of next year"