Henry & Jane: The Rectaliss

chap. six

            Jane pressed the keys on her laptop gently as others began piling into her first class of the year: Religion. Bartley requires their students to have a religion credit since their sponsors are predominantly Christians.

            As she stares off into space, regretting taking an 8am class on a Monday, the sound of the chair scraping the floor next to her shakes her out of her thoughts. She looks over at the tall man with dark, gorgeous hair as he sat down next to her.

            "You." She spoke softly.

            "Don't get too excited. Don't worry, I won't touch you." The man said, folding his hands together, staring at the white board in front of him.

            "Good." She huffed, crossing her arms, leaning back into her seat. Her soft, pink sweater coated her skin comfortingly, accented with pink slides and light washed denim jeans. She had two small earrings in her ears, the letter T, and the letter H.

            "Who's T and H?" The man said.

            Jane looked over at him and rubbed her fingers over the "H" sitting against her right ear lobe. "No one you need to know about."

            He laughed, sticking his tongue briefly between his teeth. "You're a hard one to crack, you know that?"

            "Maybe you could tell me your name first." She snarled, brushing her hair behind her ear. Her cheeks flushed red, her face getting warm. She placed her palm over her cheek and leaned into it, hoping to disguise the pink hue from the man.

            "You're right, that's kind of creepy," he started, "my name's Aaron. Aaron Garish." Reflexively, he put his hand out to shake hers, pulling it back after a second. "Sorry."

            "Jane." She said, bluntly.

            "Beautiful name, Jane." He spoke in a whisper. She glanced over at him, arms still crossed, and noticed his soft smile. His teeth were whiter than printer paper, with stubble growing in gently on his jaw. Just as she was about to reply, the professor walked into the classroom.

            "Good morning, guys. Welcome to Bartley! I hope I can make your first day great," he started, "my name is Professor Wellers." Jane sat quietly, ready to distract herself from everything happening by taking every note she can today.

            "We're going to start by going over the syllabus."

            Jane shifted awkwardly in her seat as he began taking them through the syllabus. She had her highlighter, twiddling it between her fingers. Unfortunately, she couldn't stop herself from letting her mind wander.

            Who is this man? Aaron Garish. His name sounds weird. Almost fake. Nonetheless, she couldn't stop herself from being... intrigued. Maybe it's because he's trying so hard and Jane likes being chased. Or maybe it's just because he's... gorgeous. Jane glanced over at him, catching him blatantly staring at her. No shame in his game, she thought to herself. She sent back a confused look, and he turned away smirking. She doesn't have time for a relationship right now, not after everything that's happened.

            Her arms began to tingle slightly as she noticed herself growing warmer by the second. Sweat beaded at her forehead, dripping gently down her temple.

            "Probably shouldn't have wore a sweater in August," Aaron whispered. He chuckled, as she grabbed her notebook and smacked him gently with it.

            "Alright," Wellers said loudly, gathering everyone's attention again. "Don't forget that homework is due every week on Friday. Let's begin our first chapter." The sound of books opening filled the room as he put up the first slide on the projector. The words stared back at Jane harshly as she processed what was on the screen. She sat up, pen in hand, ready to write.