Lessons In Butterflies ｡ ｡ ｡ (StudentxTeacher Romance)

Chapter 20: Just a Walk Under The Trees.

Mr Caldwell's POV (1st Person):

I walked into Mr. McAlister's physics class, my mind already elsewhere, tugging at the edges of yesterday's mess. 

I hadn't even fully processed it, the way Shella had grabbed my jacket, the way I'd leaned in—God, what was I thinking?

Trey had asked for my help, and I had a free period, so it wasn't like I had an excuse. 

But walking into the class and immediately spotting Shella at the back... yeah, this wasn't going to be easy.

I gave Trey a nod as I entered. He was hunched over at his desk, trying to manage a tangled mess of wires for some sort of physics experiment that looked like it had gone awry. 

He grumbled, looking frustrated as he muttered something under his breath. "This damn thing... I can't figure out the connection here."

I walked over to him, eyeing the wires and the half-complete circuit on the desk. 

"What's wrong with it?"

"Honestly, everything," he sighed. "I've been at this for half an hour, and I just can't get the damn resistor to—hold on, let me show you."

He leaned down to untangle some more wires. 

Trey had that slightly disheveled look about him, his dark hair a little tousled like he'd run his hands through it a few times out of frustration. 

He was wearing a wrinkled shirt under his lab coat, and I could see the sleeve of a hoodie poking out. 

Classic Trey—he never really cared much for appearances but he managed to look good anyways.

But my attention quickly drifted to the back of the room. There she was—Shella. 

She was sitting next to Ezra, and they were bent over their worksheets. Ezra, with his usual laid-back expression, didn't seem to be having any trouble. In fact, he was probably helping her. 

Shella, though, looked a little... uncomfortable? No, that wasn't quite it. Self-conscious, maybe? 

I could tell from the way she kept glancing down at herself, adjusting her blazer, fiddling with the edge of her glasses.

Why am I noticing this?

I frowned, shaking my head, but my eyes betrayed me, wandering back to her. 

Was her hair different today? It wasn't the usual braid I was used to seeing—it looked like she'd gone for a French braid today, something a bit more intricate.

"Mr. Caldwell?" Trey's voice snapped me back to reality.

"Right, sorry," I muttered, refocusing on the wires in front of me. But even as I tried to help Trey with the experiment, I couldn't stop my thoughts from drifting back to Shella. 

What if I had just leaned in yesterday? What if we had—

Stop. This is not the time.

But this was my chance, wasn't it? To talk to her, clear the air about yesterday, to tell her that things had almost—

"Ezra," Shella said suddenly, her voice soft, but I heard it clearly. I glanced over. 

Ezra had leaned in, saying something to her, and she was smiling. It was a small smile, but it was there.

She's avoiding me. I could tell. The way she kept glancing in every direction except where I was standing... avoiding eye contact completely.

Juliet and Dani were sitting nearby, whispering about something I couldn't quite catch, their eyes darting between Shella and me.