The Senior, Part Thirteen
Part Thirteen
It wasn’t lost on me that Jade used that little phrase from our time together yesterday. ‘Wait for me.’ I doubted she meant it in the same context here, though that part of her note succeeded in sparking a couple inappropriate memories when I was supposed to be focused on my next class.
She was eighteen. That was good to know. It was still definitely wrong to be doing anything like that with a student of mine, but the fact that she was legal eliminated a whole other set of would-be complications.
My last class of the day wasn’t quite as rough as the previous one. While I was still plenty distracted, I didn’t have to deal with Jade being in view like before. The girl was just in my head over the course of the next hour. I also had to make a good impression with my last round of students, however, so I could dedicate too much energy to mentally preparing for the conversation Jade and I would be having.
Leaving without facing her was out of the question. This was something that needed to be handled sooner rather than later. Plus she knew where I lived, and if I avoided her for the sake of giving myself a little more time to sort this all out, there was a good chance she’d simply show up to talk to me. Better to handle things here, in the private yet public space of my classroom.
The hour was a bit of a blur. Thankfully, I could somewhat autopilot things after more or less going through the same introduction and details numerous times at this point. When the final bell rang, I wasn’t sure whether to breathe a sigh of relief or not. I had made it through the first day of my first official teaching job. Not that impressive, considering the coming week of getting started on actual material was more daunting to me than today was. And then there was the whole Jade thing.
She didn’t make me wait long.
I was tidying my room, which was something I’d apparently have to get used to when dealing with teenagers who forgot personal possessions and some of whom considered the ground a trash can, Jade arrived. Rather than stepping into the classroom, she stood in the doorway and greeted me with a nonchalant, “Hey.”
Though I had been expecting her, it wasn’t as if I was constantly glancing over. I was finishing up my rounds and picking up a water bottle by the back row of desks when she got my attention. “Hey, Jade,” I said as I stood back up, internally cringing at how my response came out as an awkward combination of casual and formal. In my defense, we had two very different dynamics at this point.
“May I come in?” she smiled, “I have no idea what the after school rules are.”
Right. There were rules for stuff like this, particularly about one on one time with students. “You’re fine,” I said, “Just leave the door open.” We were just going to have to keep our voices down and avoid specifics to keep anyone from passing by or walking in from overhearing something that could get me in trouble.
She pushed off the doorjamb where she had been leaning, still very much looking like a confusing hybrid of the girl I met at the bar and the high school student I now knew her to be. Black backpack slung over a single shoulder and a natural confidence in her body language that demonstrated that she had recovered from our surprise meeting earlier. “And where would you like me?” she asked, “At a desk? At your desk?”
Well, so much for being mature about all this. Her flirting wasn’t particularly subtle, which meant it was up to me to set some boundaries. “A desk is fine,” I replied, “And this is serious, Jade. You didn’t tell me that you were in high school.”
“I said I was a senior,” she shrugged.
“A senior, who was drinking at a bar,” I pointed out. And who looked a few years older than she actually was.
Jade just sighed. She sauntered over to the front row of desks, leaning against the one in the middle and facing away from me. “Fine. Maybe I implied or omitted or whatever. But also, come on. I know it’s a total cliché, but I’m mature for my age. And you can’t deny that we work.”
It was difficult to not roll my eyes at the cliché phrase, not that she would see me do so from where she was now standing. She wasn’t completely wrong, as she had come across as more of a college senior when I had been making that assumption. Still, her recent flirting pointed in the opposite direction, as did a number of little things in retrospect.
“There is no ‘we,’ Jade,” I said. It felt somewhat cold to say, although we also barely knew each other before the revelation about her age. Yes, I had been looking forward to getting to know her beyond those first few interactions, but we were hardly exclusive. “Do you know how bad this would be for me if anyone found out?” With another girl, I’d be more hesitant to provide ammo she could potentially use against me. Only this was Jade. Based on how self assured she was, I doubted she would stoop to using any kind of leverage to get what she wanted.
I made my way to the front of the room, entirely unsure where to place myself. With any other student, I probably wouldn’t be overthinking something like that. Settling on the chair behind my desk, hoping that anyone who happened to look into the room wouldn’t question us being face to face in such a way, I tried to ignore the way the auburn haired girl’s outfit hugged her body.
Jade didn’t look particularly upset by my response. Instead, she merely glanced towards the hall for a moment before returning her gaze to me. “Honestly? I think it’s kind of hot.”