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"Thanks," Ito be impossible It’s not like I can just erase the fact that Lake exists I’ll more than likely see her at work on a daily basis, whether in passingin the lunchroo lot I’ll definitely see her at ho I see when I walk out my own front door Or look outthat

Kel and Caulder are beco inseparable, so I’ll eventually have to interact with her regarding the to work Lake is absolutely rightit isn’t going to work at all I kept trying to tell ht that what she said wasn’t true, but it is I wonder if the only other alternative would be to try and at least be her friend We’re obviously going to have to work through this situation somehow

When I round the corner tonext to ainst the wall, attee my name My first instinct is to turn around and walk away, but I realize these are the exact types of situations we’re going to have to learn to confront

"That’s not a good idea," I say, before she forges , it would be Mrs Alex

Lake spins around and looks at me Her cheeks flush and she darts her eyes down to my shirt, embarrassed I walk past her and unlock the door, then motion for her to enter the classroom She walks to my desk and smacks her forht I’d spare you the trouble," she says

She must not have had her coffee today I pick up the form and look it over "Russian Lit? That’s what you chose?"

She rolls her eyes "It was either that or Botany"

I pull n the form As soon as the tip of my penincredibly selfish She chose poetry as an elective before she even kneould be teaching it She chose poetry because she loves it The fact that the thoughts I have about her make me uncomfortable is an extremely selfish reason to force her into Russian Literature for the rest of the year I hesitate, then lay the pen back down on the paper

"I thought a lot last nightabout what you said yesterday It’s not fair of me to ask you to transfer just because it makes me uneasy We live a hundred yards apart; our brothers are becoood for us, help us figure out how to navigate e’re around each other" I reach into my satchel and pull out the test she somehow made a perfect score on "Besides, you’ll obviously breeze through"

She takes the test fro," she says quietly "I understand where you’re co from"

I put the lid back on the pen and scoot et easier froly "Right," she says

I know I’ She could move back to Texas today and I would still feel too close to her But once again, it’s not s that should matter at this point It’s hers I’ve screwed her life up enough in the past week; the last thing I want to do is shove Russian Lit on top of that I crumple up her transfer form and chuck it toward the trash can When it misses, she walks over and picks it up, then throws it in

"I guess I’ll see you third period, Mr Cooper," she says as she exits the room

The way she refers to me as "Mr Cooper" makes me scowl I hate the fact that I’m her teacher

I’d so much rather be her Will

7

the honeymoon

LAKE HASN’T MOVED ain every word I’ve said Recalling the day we s that tore us apart is grueling

"I don’t like talking about this any you sad"

Her eyes widen and she turns her body towardthat happened I actually feel like it helps me understand a lot of your actions better I don’t knohy I felt like you sort of blamed me"

I kiss her softly on the lips "How could I blame you, Lake? All I wanted was you"

She smiles and rests her head on my forearm "I can’t believe my mom told you to leave me that note," she says

"God, Lake That was so ehs "She really liked you, you know At first, I mean She loved you in the end It was the in-bethere her feelings about you sort of waned"

I think about the day Julia found out, and hoorried sheon in her life like she did, then have to watch your daughter deal with heartache? Uniinable

"Remember when she found out you were my teacher?" Lake says "The look on your face when she alking up the driveway toward you, it ful I was so afraid you would think I told her because I was mad at you"

"I was so scared of her that day, Lake She could be really intiain later that night, I saw a more vulnerable side to her, but still I was scared to death of her"

Lake jerks up on the bed and looks at ain?"

"Later that night when she came back to my house Did I never tell you that?"