Boy Meets Girl (Shawn Hunter from BMW Love Story)

chapter sixteen

     "And now for a special announcement from our head basketball coach Mr. Franklin!"  The school intercom blared. Mr. Feeny rolled his eyes.

     "This better be good...this is cutting into my class time," he muttered.

     "Thank you Principal Hernandez! I am honored to announce that last night our boy's varsity basketball team defeated the Mighty Mustangs from Martinez High School, making our record for this season 9-0! This is the first time our boy's basketball team has ever gone undefeated for an entire season! Congrats to all the members of the boy's basketball team, and special shoutout to captain Reggie Owens for leading the boys to victory. We hope to see you all at the district championship game next Friday at home!" Coach Franklin cheered. Immediately, the class erupted into cheers. People were clapping and hollering at the good news. 

     "Let's go Reggie!" One of the boys shouted from the back of the class. 

     "Reggie Owens for President!" 

     That name sounded familiar to me but I couldn't add a face to the name. "Quiet down! It's just basketball. I wish you all had this enthusiasm to learn about the Civil War," Mr. Feeny complained. 

     "The Civil War is boring," Cory said, causing everyone to laugh. Mr. Feeny, of course, did not find Cory's comment funny. He shook his head and crossed his arms. Suddenly, the bell rang and everyone jumped up out of their seats to leave. 

     "Miss Evans, can you  please stay for a few moments after class?" Mr. Feeny asked me. I nodded my head in response. 

     "Yes, sir."

      I noticed that most people had already left the class to go to lunch, except Shawn. Who stood in the back with his backpack on waiting for me. Once we made eye contact, he winked at me and smiled. "Mr. Hunter, why are you still here?" Mr. Feeny asked. 

     "Oh I'm just waiting for Mary Jane," he said. Mr. Feeny rolled his eyes once again. 

     "Get out, Romeo," Mr. Feeny teased. I looked back at Shawn and smiled.

     "Give me a couple minutes," I said. Shawn nodded before leaving Mr. Feeny's classroom. Mr. Feeny took a seat at his desk and chuckled to himself. 

     "What did you do to the boy? He acts like a lovesick puppy now," he teased again. I shrugged my shoulders and chuckled. Being teased about my relationship with Shawn by my history teacher was way more awkward than I could have ever imagined.  "Anyway, I called you back for a few minutes because I wanted to talk to you about our tutoring program at the school. You're a very bright student, Mary Jane. One of the brightest students I've ever had, which is why I want you to join my team of student tutors."

     "Thank you, Mr. Feeny! That means so much to me," I replied and I meant that. Mr. Feeny could be an old fart sometimes but the man was a good teacher and it made me feel so honored to be recognized as a good student by his standards. 

     "No problem, Miss Evans. One of the benefits of being a tutor is that you get community service hours and a letter of recommendation from me."

       "Sounds great to me! I'm in. When can I start?"

      "Wonderful! You can start as early as you'd like. I'm not finished with your pairings just yet so just give me until the end of the day. All you have to do is fill out a tutoring log and tutor one of your peers for about three hours twice a week. Are you okay with that?"

     "Yes, count me in!" I responded. I was a little nervous to meet the person that I would be paired with. I knew the suspense would kill me. 

     "Amazing, you're free to go Miss Evans. Thanks again for agreeing. I appreciate it."