Veronica (teacher x student)

6

We drive around town and she points out every teacher's house.

"Do you know where Ms. Wright's house is?" I ask curiously.

"Yes! I don't have her for any classes, but her house is huge!" She says.

"Huge? Isn't she only like twenty-something?" I respond.

"Yeah, she probably like inherited some family money or something," Jenny guesses. She drives around and makes some turns. We turn into this neighborhood that is notorious for only housing rich people. There are a few houses that are even gated off so that you can't drive into their driveway.

"It's this one!" She says pointing at one of the big houses with a gate in front of it. The whole lot is surrounded by trees so you can barely even see the house. I move my head from side to side trying to see through the thick trees. I see a fountain in front of a double door, other than that I can't really spot anything else. 

"God Damn, Ms. Wright must be a drug lord or something," I joke to Jenny. She laughs a little too hard.

"Probab-fucking-ly," She manages to say in between laughter. We drive around the neighborhood some more and ooh and ahh at the large homes. I love hanging out with Jenny because she knows what it's like to be lower-middle class. I grew up in the lower middle class but I think over the years my family has grown to the middle-middle class. A lot of my friends' families are well put and it's just a refreshment to hang out with someone who's not so... ignorant.

"When are you going back to volleyball?" Jenny asks me.

"Really soon, either in two or three days," I respond. She nods along with the music.

"I really like hanging out with you, but I know you get very busy during volleyball season," she tells me.

"I love being with you too, especially in the summer, I kind of hate that I don't have much time for anyone right now," I confide. We sing along to the music and eventually, she drops me off at my car in the empty school parking lot. She drives off before I can even get the keys out of my pocket.

I unlock my car and open the door. The sun is setting and it looks very pretty. Out of the corner of my eye, I spot someone riding a bike. They have wispy hair and a tanned body. They look so relaxed, at peace. No worries in the world, just riding their bike at sunset. I want to be them. That kind of calmness is something I've always wanted, but I don't have a bike or wispy hair. The only thing I have close is my feet, running is my escape. Running is my off-brand sunset bike riding.

It's been a week. I started playing volleyball again which means I only see Ms. Wright for class. There's only one more week until my birthday, I hope Ms. Wright hasn't forgotten about my reward. I bet it's going to be something like a bag of jolly ranchers or fruit snacks. School days have gone by so slowly lately, even in English. At least it's Friday, every Friday after volleyball practice I run around town. Well, that's if we don't do conditioning that makes me want to vomit.

Volleyball practice ends very smoothly, with no running at all. I quickly go home and change into some spandex shorts and a tight tank top. I put my hair up and my shoes I only wear to go running in. My mom quickly says hi and bye to me because as soon as I got home I left again. I start with a light jog, I decided to go on the bike path near my house. I popped some AirPods in my ears and start mumbling the music. Volleyball took a long time today so the sun is already starting to set.

I run past an empty playground I used to play at every weekend as a kid. A wave of nostalgia blazes over my head. I keep on running. I see the cherry blossom tunnel I told Ms. Wright about. There were no petals, though. It's nearing October which means they are becoming naked and ugly. There are a couple of benches under the trees and I see a woman sitting at one. As I get nearer, the more familiar she looks. I realize that it's none other than Ms. Wright sitting under the blossom tunnel. She looks my way and smiles,

"Veronica!" she says happily. She pats the bench next to her for me to sit down. I slam my butt down on the bench and try to slow my breathing. Erica leans back and puts her arm behind me.

"I never got to say how sorry I am about the Liam thing," She says softly.

"It's okay, my voice is perfectly fine now. Plus, there's nothing you could've really done about it," I tell her.

"But there is," She turns toward me, "At the beginning of this school year, I didn't know how I could get close with any of my students. Even though I'm not that much older, I thought I couldn't build a connection. When you fell into my arms, that's when I knew I did build a connection and a strong one too," She confides in me, "I just wish I got there sooner,".

We stay silent for a few seconds gazing at each other. She looks down and touches my hand. Eventually, she breaks the silence,

"There's this speech competition a few hours away. I think you could do really good in it," she tells me, squeezing my hand.

"Speech? I took a public speaking class last year but I don't know how good I would be," I say.

"I'll be there with you. It's a school event, so the school will pay for the hotel and it would be just us," She tries to convince me.

"Just us? How long will it be?" I ask.

"It's an individual competition and you would speak on one day then awards are the next day. It's next Thursday and Friday," She tells me.

"I don't know," I say. She slides closer to me and touches my thigh. Her head leans by my ear and she whispers,

"Please... for me,". I tilt my head back and she grabs the back of my neck forcing me to look at her.

"I'll go," I whisper back. Her mouth turns into a very wide smile. 

"Good girl," She says softly. I lean in closer to her face. She reluctantly moves her head back. She takes away the hand from behind my neck and leans away from me.

"You need to rest up, I heard you have a game Monday," She says.

"Yeah, it should be light work though, the school we are playing is terrible," I tell her. She smiles at my words, "I better go home now,". Her smile quickly fades away.

"Good night," she says so warmly.

"Good night," I replied getting up from the bench. I start jogging back home. I can't stop thinking about every time she's ever touched me. When she touched my leg after getting stitches, when she scratched my back, even then, when she grabbed the back of my neck. Every time her fingertips touch my skin I vibrate internally. I think I might have a crush on her. It might be weird since she is my teacher, but when she wears those tight pencil skirts, I can't stop thinking about her.

I want her to like me back, but I am her student. I definitely don't want to get her fired, or incarcerated. I just wish we could've met at another time, not in high school. I want to keep things as professional as I can, so I declare myself not to make any moves. No matter how many times she grabs my neck or whispers 'good girl' I will not blush or incite anything. I may feel all these feelings inside but I cannot show them. I declare myself celibacy from Erica Wright.