The Senior, Part Twelve
Part Twelve
What the actual fuck?!
Considering the skimpy outfit Jade had on, there was no way she was some teaching assistant or intern or whatever who coincidentally ended up needing to stop by one of my classes. Also, she had told me she was into the arts, and I doubted a girl like her would have some part-time gig at the very school I just started working at. There weren’t many other possibilities out there besides the obvious: she was a high school student.
Jade had said ‘senior’ at the bar. Naturally, my mind had leapt to ‘college senior,’ considering both her maturity and the fact that she had been drinking whiskey. In my defense, she had certainly never specified herself, as doing so would have given away that she was out with a fake ID. I didn’t really care about that piece of the puzzle, as I drank when I was a teenager as well; my biggest concern, obviously, was the fact that I had slept with one of my students. Well, not fully slept with, but close enough.
To her credit, she looked just as surprised as I felt. Between the two of us, however, she recovered more quickly. “Syllabus?” she politely asked, holding out her hand for the small packet. “I’m Jade, by the way.”
“Umm, right. Here you go, Jade.” I fumbled with the top syllabus for a second, then gave it to her while hopefully not giving anything away to the small group of students still filing their way into the classroom.
There really wasn’t any time to pull her aside, or even to take a moment to breathe. She turned and headed into the room to find a seat, and I was still in the midst of greeting each new arrival. Doing my best to settle back into the energy I had before Jade appeared, I handed out the remainder of the syllabi with a fake smile on my face. All the while, I was wondering how the hell I was going to lead the coming class when my mind was anywhere but teaching at the moment. At least I had already done four rounds of introductions/expectations, and didn’t have to worry about getting through any actual content today.
Jade had picked a desk in the back row. Seemed on brand for her, as my first interaction with her demonstrated how little patience she had for certain people. That, or she was trying to distance herself as much as possible from me. This had to be a whole thing for her as well; I couldn’t even begin to imagine it from her perspective.
She was literally wearing the same skirt she had worn when we met, this time with a dark green tank top. Though her look was objectively the same as before, everything had changed. In the dim light of the bar, she looked so hot when showing that much skin. In the fluorescent light of a public school classroom, however, the image was that of a teenager dressing casually, like so many of her peers did. Okay, maybe she was still hot, except there were now so many more considerations beyond the physical.
At least Jade wasn’t sitting in the front; I’m not sure I would have been able to handle that. Honestly, I would have preferred her blending in by sitting in the middle, but it probably wouldn’t have mattered. No matter where she was, my eyes were going to be drawn that way. Out of nervousness, familiarity, etc. It was going to be a long class.
Somehow, I survived. By focusing on the schedule for the coming semester and going on auto-pilot to some degree thanks to how I had already done this a few times, I did my best to build a decent rapport with the group of students. With this specific class, I made sure to go through my spiel about how I was aware that most of them were starting their final year, and how I planned on treating them like young adults as long as they acted like it. I really didn’t care for hand raising in general; if a student needed the bathroom or had something important to deal with, they could just go. And, borrowing from a mentor of mine, I also offered each student three passes for late assignments. Sometimes it’s just a shitty week, or a major club/sport commitment, or another class needs priority due to an upcoming test/essay/project, etc.. Or, for some, those passes could be used for simple procrastination. Either way, I never wanted to be a hardass about deadlines when everyone their age had so much going on beyond just academics.
Going into all of that was a much needed distraction from the auburn haired girl sitting in the back row. And, before I knew it, I was wrapping things up in time for the bell. I genuinely had no idea if Jade was going to dart out of the room or attempt to talk to me; I was guessing the latter, based on how bold and forward she had been yesterday.
It turned out that she planned on splitting the difference. As everyone filtered out of the classroom, some of whom thanked me or briefly introduced themselves along the way, Jade made her way towards the front. Rather than approaching me, she placed something on my desk when I was talking with another student, making sure to catch my eye as she did. Then she sauntered out of the classroom, glancing over her shoulder at the last second to shoot me a smile.
I didn’t have much time, as the first students of my last class would be arriving shortly. Turns out, Jade had simply left me a note. Unfolding the half sheet of notebook paper, I quickly read what she had written in handwriting that was just as pretty as the number she had jotted down for me outside the bar.
We should probably talk. Wait for me here after your last class?
–J
P.S. I’m eighteen. :)