Nothing But Trouble

37/journey off the deep end

chapter 37:journey off the deep end
blake ren

[Lucas]
hey can u come over?

[Lucas]
i really need to
talk to u

        I read over the messages again on my new phone screen, blinking to make sure I was seeing clearly and not hallucinating the words Lucas had sent me. I typed out a response, backspaced, rewrote it, and backspaced again. I clicked my phone off before Mrs. Stoneman returned to the library and saw I wasn't working on the SAT practice questions she had tasked me with.

She came back a few seconds later, just like I predicted, with a refill of steaming coffee in her travel mug and a plate of food in her other hand. She smiled at me, placing the paper plate down in the middle of the table. "The teacher's lounge had donuts, I thought you might want one."

I looked at the pile of donuts she had taken.

"I might've grabbed more than I should have," she confessed with a small laugh. It felt strange hanging out with a teacher, but I tried to be nice and laugh with her too. She had gone out of her way to help me and now she's giving me donuts during our study session; she was really trying to make me like her.

"Is that one strawberry filled?" I asked, pointing to one. I meet up with Mrs. Stoneman everyday this week and then I take the SAT this Saturday. She thought I was going to be just fine, but my stomach twisted with nerves every time I thought about that awful test.

"Mhm," she smirked from behind the rim of her mug as she took a sip. "Why, is strawberry your favorite?"

I picked the donut and took a cautious bite. The delicious flavor consumed my mouth and I moaned in appreciation, nodding my head.

"I love a good Boston Creme donut," Mrs. Stoneman commented as she grabbed one for herself. She gestured to the questions in front of me. "So have you figured them out?"

         "Uhm, I think so." I pushed them towards her so she could check them. I scratched my head, moving my fingers around to hold them to my mouth as I waited nervously. Now I know how Kyle felt yesterday.

        My phone vibrated against my leg again and I immediately thought of Lucas, wondering if he texted me again. I subtly checked my phone but it was just a text in the group-chat with Easton and Riley. I actually got a little disappointed it wasn't from Lucas. But I shouldn't be surprised, no one triple texts unless they want to look desperate. My phone buzzed again with all the messages Easton was flooding the chat with. Okay some people triple text. But only shameless people like Easton.

        "You got all of them correct," she announced, a look of amazement on her face. "Excellent job, Blake."

        "Oh," I replied. She pushed the work back in front of me, happy that I had done well. I didn't know how to react. She was the first teacher to be genuinely nice to me in a long time.

        It was like she saw me as a person before she saw me as a student. Most teachers seemed to forget the kids they're teaching are real people with their own thoughts, and that can be seen when they only favor the smart quiet students. Everyone was different and yet they only treated their obedient little robots with respect.

        "You really are a natural," she praised. "Were you some kind of prodigy as a child?"

        I snorted. "Not at all. They almost held me back in third grade because I sucked at English. I could barely spell."

        "But math has always come easy for you, hasn't it? Because even on the tests and quizzes from earlier in the semester, you always got Bs without ever doing the homework." Mrs. Stoneman leaned back in the library chair, folding her arms.