The Teacher

Chapter One: Introduction

It has been two years since my mom died and only a few months since dad left us. Everyone said I looked like my mom. I missed her so much but I have found my ways of dealing with the loss of her.I knew something bad was going to happen today. Ever had that feeling that something was off?  I just knew it. "Mom!" It is my first day at a new school in my last year of high school and I am late. This always happened. She always slept in. It was very rare that she would get me up for school.  "Mom! Wake up! I'm late! We need to go!" My mom, well Rachel, finally wakes up. My dad made me call her mom when they married about half a year ago. I think he was just in denial about my actual mom. I do feel bad for Rachel though. She got drug into our big mess of a family. I'm sure she regrets it now looking back. Dad left her because he could not live with another woman that was not mom. It was not fair to anyone but there is nothing anyone can do about it. Rachel looks at me with a panicked look as she tries to comprehend what I just said. She jerks her head to look over to her alarm clock and immediately gets out of her bed. It is Monday so I understand why she is so tired. She has been working double shifts at a small diner in town then goes to bar tend at a small bar. The bar does not pay her much. They mainly just needed another worker. Then we also just moved from Maine to here in Georgia. My parents grew up here and I was born here. My mom got accepted into a college in Maine which is why we lived there for most of my life. Dad wanted to move back after mom's death. By the time Rachel is ready to go, I am now an hour late to school. Just fucking great. The drive to school only takes about fifteen minutes at the most. It is right down the street from the diner that Rachel works at. I do not have anything to say to her on the way to school. I am kind of angry at her for this. It is my first day and I am late. So instead of talking to her I stare out the passenger window. My mind starts drifting off to how things were before the accident. Dad would always wake up before mom and I and he would have the coffee made for us. I would be the last one to wake up most of the time but occasionally mom slept in. Dad and I would walk down to the shore by our house. Our house had overlooked the ocean at that time. Dad and I would work on rebuilding an old boat that we found when we first moved there. Fuck I miss those days. I can feel tears building up in my eyes so I blink them away. 

"Hello? Zeke? Get out of your head. You need to get out of the car. I'll see you after school." I look at Rachel and realize we are at the school now. I get out and grab my stuff before heading to the front office. I had to wait to get buzzed in at the front gate for a minute and in that time I prepared myself to talk to people. I had suffered with horrible anxiety until I started taking medication for it. It helped a lot but I still get nervous meeting new people and sometimes I stutter when I get too anxious or nervous. There is a long wooden bench outside the office door and sitting there is a guy with dirty blonde hair that is spiked up and a little messy. It reminds me of the way men style their hair in cologne magazines. The guy is wearing jeans that clearly have small blood stains on them and a tight black shirt that fits his biceps well. He has tan skin that is covered with scars. He looks like a bad boy right out of a cheap romance movie. When I look at his face I see he is smirking at me but then it quickly fades. He stands up and gets close to me. He is tall but he does not necessarily tower over me. I am already pretty tall so he only has about two inches on me. "You got a problem, kid?" His voice is harsh. He wants me to be scared of him but I do not care about him. Leaving him standing there, I walked into the office. There is an older woman sitting in a chair behind a small wooden desk. There are a few chairs and small side tables by the front window for people who are waiting. "How may I help you, young sir?" She smiles sweetly and sounds like those grandmas that spoil you and give you plenty of sweets. "Hi uhmm... I need my class schedule. I am new here." I criticize myself for forgetting what to say. My dad was also stern when he would tell me that the way I talk and introduce myself will be what people expect from me. So if I mess up introducing myself then I am a mess up. "What is your name sweetie?" the receptionist asks. "Ezekiel Quinten, ma'am." She nods and then starts going through files of papers. I do not have to wait long until she finds my file and pulls out some papers for me. "Here you go, Zeke. Have a nice day" She smiles again and hands me the papers. I quickly flip through them to find my schedule and look at my watch. I am still in my first period. There are only thirty minutes left but I have to go. I finally found the room. On the paper it says the teacher's name is Mr. Alvarez. I hope he is not too strict. I walk into the class and everyone's eyes are on me. They all seem to be doing a paper already. "Name?" I look over at the teacher. "Zeke Quinten, sir." Holy shit he is hot. His black hair is slicked back with a few strand hairs. He is wearing a white button down shirt with a grey blue vest over it along with dark grey dress pants. He is wearing a pair of glasses that matches him perfectly. "Please find a seat, Mr. Quinten." His voice is deep and stern when he talks. But you can definitely hear a southern drawl in it. Fuck me.