Teaching Mr. Cooper

Chapter 12

Jezz rarely skipped class, in fact now it had been one of her conditions towards being emancipated. Looking ahead, she got to her place and got ready for her sister. The social worker had agreed to bring her over at 4:00, so she was surprised when the buzzer sounded at only 3:30. Buzzing them in, she made one last pass over her small apartment making sure everything looked nice. A knock at the door sent Jezz flying over to throw it wide open.

"Mr. Cooper!?" she gasped. That was not who she was expecting. Looking passed him into the hallway, there was no sign of her sister.

Daniel grinned at her confusion. "Sorry, were you expecting someone else?"

Feeling the color rising in her cheeks at the sight of her surprise guest, Jezz explains, "Uh, yeah. My little sister should be getting dropped off soon." Jezz frowned, unsure of why he was there. She was pretty sure this wasn't appropriate.

Sensing her apprehension, Daniel rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Um, sorry, I know this is unexpected but you left your bag in the SRC room at lunch. I thought you might be needing it since it's the weekend and all." Daniel held the bag out to her as proof.

"Thanks, I can't believe I forgot it." Jezz moved back, allowing Daniel to step out of the hallway and into her apartment.

"You kind of rushed out of there after our talk," Daniel paused watching her carefully. "I guess I also wanted to make sure you were okay. So... are you okay?" Daniel tilted his head and at that moment seemed very close. Jezz froze, thinking she felt like a deer caught in someone's headlights.

Remembering to breathe, Jezz inhaled and moved to hang up her bag. "Yeah, no, I'm fine. It's no big deal. Just not something I'm used to telling people, I guess," she explained as casually as she could manage.

Daniel nodded but seemed unconvinced, "Well, when you didn't show up for your afternoon classes, I thought maybe you might not be." Daniel's gaze followed her, which only added to her discomfort. And now he knew she skipped class, great. "Don't worry, I let your teachers know you were feeling unwell."

Jezz smiled weakly, at least that was one last thing to worry about. "Thank you. I'm fine really... you didn't need to come all the way over here. But I appreciate it, I would've been panicking when I realized I didn't have my bag." Jezz blushed at her nervous rambling, but Daniel smiled watching her carry on like that.

Looking around he says, "This is a nice place you have. It's very cozy."

"Well, if by cozy you mean small, then yes. I would like to get a two-bedroom but I haven't found one I can afford yet." Jezz looked around at her small place and sighed.

"No, I mean it's cute. It feels very inviting and homey. I like it." Daniel looked around again, there was a very plush area rug in the living room, cute feminine curtains hung over the window. There wasn't a lot of furniture, but each piece looked carefully chosen and helped to make the whole thing a home. "It's not so bad for one person. My first place was a bachelor apartment. It had one of those murphy bed's in the living room." Daniel chuckled thinking back to his first place. It had been a hole, nothing like this, but he also never bothered to decorate.

"No, it's fine for me. But I'm hoping that once I turn 18... I'll be able to get custody of Annabel. Then this place will be a little crowded. It's fine for weekend visits though."

"Really? That's a lot of responsibility. The foster home she's in... is it a nice place?" Daniel tried to sound understanding, but there were few 17 year olds that he thought were mature enough to raise a child. Although maybe she would be the one, she always seemed to surprise him.

"I'm not stupid, of course I know it's a lot of responsibility. They wouldn't even consider me if they didn't think I could handle it. Besides, I've basically been raising her since I was 10," Jezz said defensively. Taking a breath, she explained, "My mom was never really the mothering type... I mean when I was little, things were different... well better, it was never really perfect. But she and dad were in a car accident when she was pregnant. I was at school." Jezz folded her arms over her body as she looked out the window. Daniel drew closer but didn't say anything, instead he waited for her to go on.

"She went into labour and my dad, well he didn't make it. My mom was never the same after. Annabel spent four weeks in NICU, mom was there all the time, even though she never really held her. I pretty much took care of myself, but I remember getting to hold Annabel once, and I promised her that I would always be there for her and take care of her. And I did, at least until things got bad and CPS stepped in. I just keep feeling like I've broken my promise." Jezz stopped and quickly wiped at her eye, before turning back to Daniel with a smile and a shrug.

"Hey, it sounds like you have been an amazing sister," Daniel whispered, his voice hoarse from emotion. It nearly broke him to see her smile, when all she felt like was giving into tears. "You can't blame yourself. You've done all you can. Annabel being in foster care, it isn't your fault." Daniel reached out and touched her arm, knowing he shouldn't, knowing it was a bad idea, but powerless to stop himself. Jezz stepped closer leaning into his touch. Daniel drew her in to his embrace and pressed his face against her hair. They stayed that way for a while, before Jezzy remembered the time.

"Annabel!"

"What?" Daniel not sure what she was talked about.

"She's going to be here any minute." Pulling away, Jezz quickly tried to straighten her hair, it had gotten flattened during their embrace. "You should probably go... the social worker will be dropping her off. I don't think it would look good for there to be some guy here."

"I'm your teacher." Daniel still hadn't moved. Jezz stopped to stare at him.

"Yes, and you're in my apartment, alone, unchaperoned with a 17 year old female student. Nothing questionable there." Jezzy gave him a pointed look.

"Right, point taken. Um, I'll leave." Now it was Daniel's turn to blush. In truth, it hadn't felt inappropriate, but there was no denying that is exactly what it looked like.