Gracie Freaking Hall

Sydney

The line between predator and prey was very thin when it came to Sydney and Mr. Roman. People can hate me for saying it but I never knew what was right or wrong and I was always left wondering if they did. Looking into her eyes and seeing their so-called love unfold before me made me understand her position but it also made my skin crawl. How could I say she was a victim when she was willing there but how could I say she wasn't when he was older and knew better? Her only defense of the matter was, that 18 was legal. However, when they met she was 17, so did that constitute a break in law? We all saw it that way except the main girl herself. The start of it was innocent enough, nothing physical. One might even call it cutesy. It started with the behavior most would see as praise, he would make her feel special, even buy her cute gifts. She loved the attention, claiming, "men are much better than boys." I could see and even feel the soft touches of their hands when they walked around the school building. His eyes would linger a few seconds longer on her when she did something that left everyone around her in awe, like knowing when world war 2 started. I couldn't even tell you that, but she did have him as a tutor.

They're tutoring sessions were them sitting behind his desk next to each other. His knee would brush against hers "accidently," but when she returned it, he didn't pull away. His hand would linger on her soft skin and run gentle circles around her thigh. She never pulled away, instead her hand would find his thigh and run up and down it. She knew what a man's weakness was, so she gladly used it on him.

I told her to be careful, I knew getting involved with an older man and a teacher was a gamble, but it was one she wanted to make. When we found out, the way she broke, put us in a tough position. Brianna flirting with him while making eye contact with her, broke her already fragile heart more. Him moving on to someone his age and a better match only destroyed her even more. Leaving her in a constant state of depression.

"He wants to be with me. Why can't you just let us be happy? This isn't your life, it's mine."

Those were a few of the words she threw at us until finally one day she came back, and seemed to accept the fact that everyone wanted to keep pushing them apart. To me, it seemed suspicious but Sydney never gave anything away. Sure enough, to us, their love had finally run its course and we were glad. They were never meant to end up together. He was a predator, in the end, she just didn't know she became his willing victim.

It took all my strength to sit down on the Victorian-style dining room chair; high chandelier, plushy chairs, and the patterns on the walls.

"What, no convent meeting today?" Brianna snarks as soon as she walks into the room and makes eye contact with Itzel who is sporting a simple black pants suit, then she points at me and says, "I thought pants suits were her thing." We watch as Brianna leans over one of the chairs and smiles at us; she wears a simple silk-pink tank top that shows off her cleavage, baby blue jean shorts, and black heels, making her look straight off a car magazine. She pins us with her stare and finishes her sentence, "Since, you know, it covers her scars."

At her mention of my scars, I involuntarily pull on my green turtle neck shirt that I paired with black pants. Contrary to popular belief, I chose to change my clothes. Not only did it make Mathew feel more secure about me not tempting people but it made me feel more secure as well. Back then, my outfits were scandalous as he would say, they got the attention of prying eyes I didn't need. He was right after all, so I decided to change my look to fit the married woman role more. It was only right.

It all started with a test score and one note, "see me after class," written on top. Sydney stared at the grade and couldn't help her face fall at the sight. She had never failed a class before, let alone gotten a bad grade. She would never admit to it, but I knew she had done it on purpose. Sure enough, later they stood inches away from each other.