Till The Clock Strikes Gone

11 | William Ray

"Yes?"

She repeated but William Ray was just staring at her. His blue eyes were so intense that Eliza felt like he was peering right into her soul and creeping inside her mind to see her darkest secrets.

She took this time to study him. When he had entered the class, he instantly had the attention of everyone. They were surprised to see such a young teacher in LunaVale. He was new; Eliza hadn't seen him in town before. When he spoke, his voice commanded attention and yet, it was gentle and most probably Scottish, something which almost made her heart flutter.

Eliza was impressed by his voice. She liked a man with a deep and sexy voice; it was her own fantasy and William was much better than anyone in her fantasies. His broad shoulders and his lean, tall and muscular figure gave him a really attractive structure. His facial features were sharp and he had a jaw that could cut through glass. His dark blond hair had an early morning messy style and his eyes...his eyes were the colour of the sky.

Blue and bright.

When she saw him moving towards her, she quickly made a knowing mistake just so he could stop near her to correct it.

Stayed, she wrote instead of staying.

It was a silly way of getting his attention but she was, after all, a teen in her last year of teenage. But when William said her name, it filled Eliza with surprise as she had never expected him to know her and since then, he had been staring at her. She watched him as his Adam's apple ticked.

He was nervous.

Everyone in the class was now observing them. Eliza started to feel uncomfortable by his gaze so she cleared her throat but he didn't move his eyes. He was looking at her like a wanderer in a desert looking at a mirage.

"Stop looking at her man. That's creepy." She heard James say.

James, the boy who had the guts to confront the new teacher on his very first day by mocking his age. William moved to break out of his trance. His eyes left her face to look around the classroom.

"I...I...um," he spoke, not meeting anyone's gaze. "I'm sorry. I just..." He then looked straight at Eliza and Eliza's breath caught in her throat. "You just reminded me of someone."

He threw her an apologetic smile that barely reached his eyes. His eyes had a different kind of emotion - an emotion of fear, pain, and loss.

She nodded and then went back to glance at her paper.

"Okay," William began, moving back towards his desk; she didn't miss the way his little finger shook for reasons unknown to her. "I...I think it's better if you all continue the assignment and show it to me tomorrow. As for now, the class is dismissed."

Eliza quickly put her copy and pen in her bag and when she stood up to exit, she found William's eyes on her again. She gave him a small smile and he instantly looked down, back at his book. He picked it up from the desk and rushed out before any other student, leaving Eliza perplexed.

***

Eliza stood at the parking lot waiting for James to arrive. She waited with Arabella who was busy day-dreaming as she blew air on her nails to make it seem like she had just painted them, an action which Eliza was too eager to copy.

"The way he warned me about detention. It was so hot."

Eliza went from looking at her black-painted nails to Arabella as the later spoke the words.

"What?" Eliza asked her.

Arabella was the most beautiful girl in the college. She had a heart-shaped face and her blond hair fell flawlessly in soft curls on her shoulders. Sometimes, Eliza couldn't help but be jealous of Arabella. Sure, Eliza was pretty but Arabella was beautiful and the boys in the school were crazy for her attention.