Her

Part 10

My heart raced as I sat down at my desk, my eyes never leaving her. Her back was to me as she walked around the side of her desk to sit down, her navy blue sweater-shirt clinging to her back, her bra line faintly visible. Her white capri pants had crisp, clean folds in them around her knees and waist, the silver buttons dimly shining. As she turned around to face the class, I saw her discreetly scan the rows of desks until she spotted me. Her eyes lingered on me for a fraction of a second before they returned to the papers on her desk, as soon as she realized I was looking at her. A faint blush crept onto her fine-boned, creamy cheeks, and she nervously tucked her hair behind her ear, though it remained unmoving and obediently in place. Puzzled but ecstatic, I busied myself with setting out my notebooks and pens and loose papers, wondering why she had finally noticed me and marveling at how incredible it was that I had made her blush, for a change. Class today passed quickly, and though I was exhausted, I couldn't keep the smile off of my lips. She looked at me twice more, walked past me three times, and even brushed her arm along mine when collecting the sheets of paper with the poems I'd written inscribed on them. She wasn't her usual, comfortable, buoyant self today, she was preoccupied and jumpy. I did my best to squash any sort of hope that even had the possibility of blossoming, but I couldn't help but wonder if her odd mood had anything at all to do with how she was acting around me. Maybe I was wrong, and she did know I existed. My soft, almost-hopeful smile remained on my lips all day.