When Love Struck

Chapter 2

"Sarah."

That deep masculine voice that felt so close to her ears was familiar. Her whole senses shot up in alert and her eyes flung open.

She abruptly raised her head from her folded arms on the table, her head spinning in the process and causing her to almost jerk out of her seat but a pair of firm and calloused hands grabbed her shoulders and steadied her.

The chattering of kids that now filled the room made her aware of her environment. Her nap had been interrupted by the return of the loud kids.

She rubbed her eyes and looked up at the owner of the pair of hands. "Martins." Her voice came out low.

Tall lean body, dashing smile, glowing caramel skin, and a gentlemanly character-all these were the sculptured and attractive features of the P.E teacher. He was attractive, but she didn't like him in a romantic way neither did he.

Concern etched on his manly face. "Are you okay?"

"Yes," She stretched her arms over her head and tried to stifle a yawn, " I only had a rough morning start."

Her attention slid to the sound of tiny feet and the high-pitched voices of the kids in the room and her gaze fell on a chubby coffee brown-skinned boy bouncing with his feet on his purple chair.

"Jesus Christ! Korede!" she yelled.

Martins turned just in time to see the kid she yelled at scrambling down from his seat with a toothy grin. He slid his hands into the pocket of his gray sweatpants and chuckled.

"How are you doing?" she asked.

Her swift change from commanding to sweet surprised him and he couldn't help the smile from tugging the corner of his lips. "Great. By the way-" He gestured with his hand toward the door. "I need to head to work, I have a whole lot of cases to attend to."

"Oh, you should head back." She stands on her feet. "Are you having dinner with Bernice and me this weekend?"

That was the hidden part, he was best friends with her and Bernice but somehow along the line, he forgot he was friends with Bernice and fell in love.

He moved backward in slow steps toward the door. "I don't know, I'll text you later."

"Alright, have a fun day," she teased, causing his face to scrunch up in disgust.

"By the way, that white kid might need your attention." And with that, he turned and left.

Right. How could she have forgotten the new kid the principal had told her about? She skimmed her black orbs around the room, waiting for it to notice any white person among the black kids.

Her gaze fixed on a blonde head at the middle of the last row to the left. With a smile, she placed her hands akimbo and walked toward the timid girl sitting with her head bent on a red chair.

She stood in front of the white child, observing her. She couldn't get a glimpse of the girl's face as her head was bent watching her chubby and small hands fidget with a silver charm bracelet. She looked lost in her world.

She squatted down to meet the girl's sitting height. "Fine girl."

Sarah watched the girl's head lift slowly to meet her curious gaze. A pair of gray-blue orbs stared right back at her and she could feel her heart melt. She looked so pure and angelic. Her face was chubby and round, it looked so cute that Sarah felt her hands itch to poke and kiss her all over. A wide genuine smile broke out on her lips. "What's your name?"

She hesitated before replying, causing Sarah to begin to think she didn't want to talk. "Cassandra." Her voice came out low and smooth.

"Hmm, what a beautiful name," she purred.