She's a student teacher and he's her mentor for her senior year internship. She's ready to learn and he, to teach. But are they ready for the consequences of blurred lines?
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"Alright, class. Settle in and take your seats. We've got some business to cover before we start on the normal first day stuff."
Kyle took his place in front of the class of students that had piled inside the classroom in the last ten minutes. There were hushed whispers among a group of girls in the back of the room. One of them was glaring in my direction, and I was quickly reminded what it was like to be a high school student. A high school girl, for that matter. It wasn't easy and I knew that the glares held nothing but an immature internal competition, nothing personal.
"I'll say," a student spoke up. "Who's the cutie, Mr. S.?"
Kyle popped the back of his head as he walked by the student's desk.
"Let's show some manners, Jeff. This is Miss Clark, and she's going to be the student teacher for the fall semester. She's a senior at West Haven University and will be graduating with her degree after this year. So this goes without saying, but I'm going to expect nothing less than the respect she deserves. I'm not going to tolerate any inappropriate comments toward her and if I hear any, there will be a spot for you in detention.
"She's here to teach and you're here to learn. If everyone does their job, this will be a great year."
I'd never been more nervous in my life than I was at that very moment. It was as if I walked smack into the eye of a hurricane. It was quiet for the moment, but hell could be unleashed at any moment depending on how I prepared for the hit.
"I'm going to turn the class over to Miss Clark now."
I took my place in front of the class, looking at the students. Some had their pencils in hand, ready to take notes on the information I'd prepared to share with them. Others were leaning back against their chair, obviously just waiting for the bell to ring again so they could leave.
"Hello, everyone. Like Mr. Stephens has already said, I'm Miss Clark and will be here for the semester. I hope that you will learn as much from me as I'm sure I will from all of you."
After a long fifty minutes had passed, the bell rang to dismiss the students. I hoped Kyle didn't think it went as bad as it felt like it did to me. Every word that passed from my lips felt wrong. Like I was messing up with every tick of the clock.
"You did great," Kyle complimented before I could say anything. "And don't worry about those immature comments. They'll pass soon."
Embarrassingly, I hadn't noticed any comments. And that could only be contributed to the fact that I was too damn busy second-guessing my every move.
