Chapter 3

Ever since I introduced myself to her this morning she's been my every thought aside from when I'm busy teaching. Maybe I need another coffee or maybe an energy drink that my students always seem to have on them. It works for those students maybe it'll work for me and give me an energy boost until lunch when I can get another coffee in my system. I forgot to eat breakfast again this morning but at least now that I have ms. Rirakkusu taking over English again maybe I won't be spending my nights grading papers or attempting to follow the syllabus or making sure the tests and quizzes are ready to be printed. "Alright take your seats and but don't bust out your textbooks just yet we're going to do a quick review of the last chapter we went over." I sighed grabbing my stool pulling it up towards the front of the room so everyone could see me while I do attendance. "Does anyone wanna tell me at least one of the results from the end of the Civil War? I will also be taking attendance so be sure to raise your hand if you have an answer." I enjoyed my class I never had to discipline any of them too badly and they did make sure to get their work done but some of them could work on handing in their homework on time. Attendance is always painless when my students' brains are trying to function for the sake of my class and my sanity. I was known to be a hard ass and emotionless by my coworkers but it wasn't true I care about my students especially their health and well-being. I looked up from my attendance list to see one of my more difficult students raising their hand to hopefully answer my question correctly. "Yes, Mueller. What is one result of the end of the civil war?" I repeated the question just in case any students blanked out when I originally asked the question. "There was the Assassination of President Abraham Lincoln and the reconstruction of the south." I was impressed to see they were paying attention. "Excellent job Mueller. but you're missing one final product. Does anyone know what the last result is? If you get it correct there's no final quiz on the Civil War." I forgot to print out the test for this unit anyway so this works in my favor I guess but hopefully one of them knows the answer. One of my students raised their hand cautiously to answer, they looked exhausted almost like they haven't slept all week I'll need to chat with them after class to see what's going on. "Jim Crow laws sir. They were the state and local laws that enforced racial segregation in the Southern United States after the Civil War that weren't abolished until 1965." They went above my standards that's for sure now I don't have to explain it to the rest of my students. "Correct Ramsey. Good job. Now let us move onto the next war in American history." I started looking up to see the new teacher as I subtly nodded towards my desk letting her know I'll be over in just a moment to see what she needs. She looked cute waiting for me to wrap it up, she played with her fingers as a child would. Her shirt was snug but somehow still looked big on her and her jeans hugged her thighs perfectly. "Alright, class pull out your textbooks and open up to page 13: The Mexican - American War. You're going to answer questions 1A to 10C or if you think you can answer questions 1A to 13B be my guest. I'll be at my desk with Ms. Rirakkusu discussing some topics of importance try to not be pests unless you need the assistance." I started writing the instructions on the board before walking through the rows of my students offering assistance to those that asked for it. I walked over towards my desk noticing her staring at me a little as I sat down in my seat getting comfortable letting a smirk creep onto my lips. God her eyes...they were beautiful to look at but I noticed an emotion behind those grey eyes, not sure what it was though but now I was more intrigued about this woman and whatever else was hiding behind those eyes of hers. It's almost like she just has a hold on me that doesn't seem to break like a chain around my heart that gets tugged on with every smile and laugh I hear from her. My mind wandered with the possibilities of a life where she and I met in college but that wasn't the case, we probably wouldn't have ever dated in college let alone be high school sweethearts. I guess she probably dated jocks and only cared about her reputation whereas I didn't socialize unless I was forced to and would've rather been in a book. So why was I attracted to her so much then and how could I stop my feelings from growing more until it eventually fucks up everything I've strived so much for but just looking at her made me want to forget about everything. Yeah maybe daydreaming about what could've been between us is going to cause some issues in my social life and work life. Of course, my heart ached to watch her leave after helping her with the problem twins and giving her a warning about what those two kids could do to her teaching career here. She looked confused but my worry was genuine to her and I'm very much enjoying not having to worry about teaching two different classes. My sleep schedule didn't allow me to get enough sleep when I took over the English classes, I was beyond burnt out, and it is not like the principal was going to let me call in sick so I could get a healthy dose of sleep. I'm just glad she loves her job enough to not let things get to her too easily makes my job easier to handle. "Maybe we can finally afford a day off to play with the cat and clean my apartment." I thought to myself as I started my lesson on the Mexican-American war. My students were pretty diligent with their note-taking and I always assigned new chapters for them to read before I assign homework. I hate giving out homework I'd rather just give the kids test and quizzes to make sure they were paying attention half the time they are and they struggle just a little bit or there are certain areas I have to reteach for them to understand. The bell rang as my students started packing up and I drank my coffee slowly thinking more about the English teacher and how I can grab her attention but my mind drew a blank as a teacher emailed me asking to join her for lunch duty, I checked to see if I had any papers to grade so luckily for her I did not and grabbed my phone before locking my room behind me.