The Harvard Romance

Part Five - Student and Teacher - Monday

Mr. Sawyer and I were meeting around noon at the dining hall. I had a nine am class and a two pm class today. He would be going to the Registrars office in the morning and then meeting me after. I am not sure how much help I would be to him but I'd like to try.

I told my friend Alysha about seeing my old high school teacher at work and everything that led up to the end of the night. She had an overactive imagination that made mine take off in a thousand different directions.

It took forever for lunch time to come but when it did, I found it hard to walk into the dining hall and meet him. I stood at the door and paced back and forth, outside. A couple people walked by me and I felt their judgmental eyes on me. Fuck, just go in and stop being a coward. You grew out of this, you got this. Just be your new adult self and be confident.

I wore a pair of jeans and one of my nicest blouses that had a red and pink flower print with a white background, and a pair of sandals. I actually put on some make up today. It's not something I do all the time. I hate wearing it and I am way more comfortable with it off.

I continued to pace even after lecturing myself. I still have a couple minutes to wimp out and run the opposite direction....

"Sydney?" A familiar deep voice said. It made my whole body shoot up straight and warm ten degrees, or did someone turn the temperature up outside?

Oh my god, he caught me pacing. Why did I do this here outside the door? What an idiot.

"Sydney, you okay?" Mr. Sawyer asked.

"Uh yeah. Sorry, just thinking about finals week and how close it is." I laughed and my voice shook. I was totally awkward. I still hadn't even looked at him. I remember the other night when our bodies had been so close together and how his hand had felt in my face.

"I remember finals week, its the most stressful time of college. I totally get it." And even though I wasn't watching him, I could hear the smile in his voice.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, and looked up at him. "Yeah it sure is. Last year was horrible but I still managed to get mostly A's."

"Mostly? Wow that's impressive. What did you not get an A in, if you don't mind me asking?" I remember his kind smile from high school it always melted my heart a little more back then. And now even more so.

"Uh, don't worry about that." I laughed, " let's go find a table before they are all full."

"You can't leave me hanging, now you have to tell me."

I laughed, "Maybe after we find a table." And I bolted inside.

Lunch was wonderful. We talked about Harvard and he asked me about the last couple years and why I decided to study Astrophysics. I learned he had gone to BridgeWater State University to be a teacher. The year I was in his class was his first year teaching and he had just graduated the year before. He had to earn a masters in any program to keep his teaching license and his brother had convinced him to come here. I guess he has family money and the cost of Harvard wouldn't make a dent in his  inheritance.

"So will you finally tell me which class you didn't get an A in for your finals last year?"

"Yeah, your probably not going to like it." The more we talked the more I felt at ease and the less I thought of him as my former high school teacher. "You might even be disappointed."