Who We Have

Chapter 7

“As a result,” he started, “Leonard had never been able to leave. It was the restrictions that drove him to solitude.” His voice was clear and resounding, giving the students things to note on.

“I don’t understand why he couldn’t just leave, regardless of what his parents said,” stated a girl from the back of the class.

“Well,” Adam started, “it wasn’t as simple as that. In their time, there were so many influences to a person’s life, including publicity. His parents could have ruined his life, his job, he was basically being blackmailed. While he could, theoretically speaking, leave anyway and find her again, Leonard would still be emotionally restricted and reluctant based on his past experiences.”

The girl nodded in understanding and took away to writing in her notebook. A moment later, there was a knock on the door, and Adam looked towards it as Mr. Tanner walked in. He came up to the desk and mumbled a few things to each other.

“Hey!” Jennifer poked Andy, her loud whisper travelling sharper than the nail that gently dug into her skin.

Andy’s attention averted from the work. “What?”

“Do you want to come with me after school? I have to discuss outfits with you.”

“I can’t tonight, I have a lot of work for tomorrow’s History lesson,” replied Andy.

Jennifer sighed, “Then let’s talk about it in break, we only have just over a week.”

Andy nodded in response and returned her attention to the work. In the meantime, Mr. Tanner walked back outside, and Adam looked up to the clock on the wall, calling out.

“Alright, guys, the lesson’s almost over. I’ll be taking your work in for tonight, so just gather everything up and I’ll come around.” Adam waited, placing his hands on his hips, as he looked at everyone, waiting for some to settle.

Andy quickly tried to finish writing the paragraph she was on, not wanting to leave it for later. She knew she would forget where she was going with her point, and that it wouldn’t make sense when marked. Adam began collecting everyone’s notebooks one by one, and when he came by Andy’s desk, she looked up at him reluctantly.

“Can I just… finish this up?” asked Andy, making Adam chuckle and nod in return.

“If only everyone did the same,” he said to himself quietly.

Andy grinned momentarily and finished up her sentence, closing up her books and placing everything but her notebook into her bag. As students began marching out the classroom, Andy stood and took the notebook, walking over to Adam. She was about to call out to him before he turned around, nearly bumping into her. Andy took a step back and let out an awkward grin as she held out her notebook.

“Thank you, Andrea,” he said, smiling at her warmly. His gaze lingered ever so slightly, and even though it lasted a few seconds, it felt like hours to both of them.

“You…” she trailed off, looking at him, getting into a trance for a moment.

Suddenly, she snapped out of it as she felt herself being pulled by the arm. Looking to her side, she could see Jennifer, her arm intertwined in hers, as she led her to the door.

“See ya, Mr. Coyle,” Jennifer called out nonchalantly.

“See you tomorrow, girls,” he responded, as he normally would, finally moving his gaze.

Jennifer didn’t let go of Andy until they arrived to the lockers, and she didn’t seem to notice anything out of the ordinary, which relieved Andy. Andy didn’t know what came over her, but she shook it off as soon as they left for break.