Obsessed

5

26 essays in total. Brendon sat at his desk grading a half, Eleanor at a desk in the classroom's front grading the other.

"What if they didn't correctly cite their sources?"

"Minus a point." He quickly answered.

She made the mark.

Brendon found himself moving around a lot, catching Eleanor's attention.

"Is the chair that uncomfortable?" She joked.

Brendon laughed. "It's been a long day. I really can't sit still for more than 5 minutes."

"I know the feeling. Those moments of zeal are a blessing and a curse."

She was so smart. Her voice, like a lullaby in his ears.

"Why'd you move here?"

"My parents work for corporate offices. Dad's an accountant and my Mom's a regional manager. They got promoted."

"Do you miss New York?"

"Sometimes. I like it here and all, but nostalgia... it's not very good."

Brendon felt sympathetic. It angered him internally to see her sad about anything.

"But it's okay. I think I'm fitting in, and I made some new friends."

"I'm sorry, Eleanor."

"Don't worry about it."

He watched her as she graded. Everything about her was perfect: hair the perfect shade of dark brown, body like an hourglass figure, soft skin, chocolate eyes, rounded fingernails, and perfect cleavage. The hardening returned, he stood up.

"I'll be back." he quickly said, leaving the room and closing the door.

Brendon paced back and forth, taking deep breaths to calm himself. It was impossible to contain himself. After a minute, he stopped.

"Damn you Eleanor." he mumbled.

Down the hallway, he caught sight of Principle Smith speaking to two adults. They seemed familiar. Then he realized, it was Eleanor's parents.

"I finished, Mr. Urie." Eleanor emerged from the classroom.

"Already? Wow, you are fastidious."

She peered past him. "Oh, it's my parents. Wanna meet them?"

"Oh, Eleanor I -"

"C'mon." She took his hand, leading him over to the trio.

"Oh, this is Mr. Urie." The Principle introduced. "AP English."

Brendon smiled. "Pleasure to meet you both."

"Let me guess." Billie began, "You're the one teacher who's had trouble with Eleanor?"

He laughed. "No. Eleanor's a delight. Her writing is above all standards and I can tell she reads a lot."

"That's just Eleanor." Adrienne continued. "She'll go above and beyond for anything, but English will always be her priority."

"Glad to hear it."

Billie lightly hit Eleanor's back. "Let's go, kiddo." The two headed toward the exit.

"Great to meet you again Mr. Urie." Adrienne remarked as she followed them out.

"Bye, Eleanor!" he called out.

The girl turned, smiled and waved.

"Gotta say, Brendon," Smith commented. "You're really leaving your mark on her."

"What can I say? Eleanor's... special."

"Definitely a star student. Y'know you always have to watch out for those because you'll never know when they betray you. It happens more often than you think."

"Eleanor would never do that."

"How do you know?"

"I just do. Don't make assumptions like that." He headed back to his classroom, slightly irritated.

On the desk where Eleanor sat, the papers she graded rested, along with a sticky note atop them: All done! Hope I wasn't too harsh :)

Brendon picked up the note, inhaling it. The paper had Eleanor's scent on it, one that smelled like warm cookies with a hint of maple syrup. It made him smile a bit.

"How'd it go?" Amber asked as Eleanor held the phone to her ear, lying on her bed.

"What kind of question is that? I just graded some essays."

"I'm just making sure nothing weird is happening."

"Why would something weird be happening?"

"Ugh, nevermind. Anyway, I've been meaning to ask you about possibly going to the movies with Jason and Sam and I Monday after school."

"Sure. What're we seeing?"

"Jason's been dying to see something called Danger Days.."

"Really, he's into that stuff?"

"Yeah, but don't worry, we'll let you pick next time."

"Okay, see you Monday."

"See you then."

He typed her name into the search bar. It was the first one to come up. Her Instagram account was public, overtly used more often than her facebook. The last photo posted was when she had her first day of school in Texas. It was another mirror selfie, this time fully clothed. Eleanor seemed perturbed.

First day at New School. Kind of nervous. #ImissNewYork

Brendon clicked on an array of photos, one of which was Eleanor standing on a beach. The ocean behind her. His attention was on her black lace bra, and shorts to match. He screenshot it, then returned to the array. Another mirror selfie, taken from the waist up about a week ago, in which she wore a black crop top, exposing everything from the breast down.

It's so hot in Texas. #Feelin'Good

Brendon screen - grabbed it. Then, he went to his photos, selected the ones of Eleanor, and printed them.