professor » jack gilinsky

twenty

amaya walks me to class because she wants to know all about my weekend. i trust her and i can be open with her about everything. even if the topic is about having sexual relations with my teacher.

"what are you gonna do about número siete?" amaya asks, referring to max.

"i-i cut it off with him." i tell her.

"see! i knew you'd chose jack!" she exclaims.

"shut up. keep your voice down." i shush her whilst laughing a little.

"so, you and jack. are you together now?"

"not together, together, but we're just letting nature take its course." i reply. "i don't want things to get too complicated too quickly."

"let's hangout after class?" she asks, stopping me at my classroom entrance.

i nod my head, "okay, we can go to the mall or something." i suggest.

"yes! until then." she smiles, turning around and waving me off.

i don't understand how she's so happy all of the time. it's like she has no worries of life problems. i head into class and i am warmly greeted by mr. gilinsky. he has a buoyant smile plastered on his face.

"mercedes, i hope you have your assignment finished." jack says to me, jokingly.

"i didn't understand." i joke back.

"why didn't you ask me for help?"

"i saw my professor this weekend, he taught me things, but nothing related to math." i tease and he smiles.

"are we going to do anything after class?" he raises an eyebrow.

"i was going to the mall with amaya, but you can tag along if you'd like."

"do you really think that's a good idea?" he asks and i shake my head, laughing.

"it's a terrible idea, sorry, but maybe after i hangout with amaya. you can come over."

"hmm," he hums. "i like the sound of that much more than going to the mall."

"shut up." i smile, walking back to my desk and i can feel his eyes burn into me.

i've grown to love my front row seat very much. i was totally against it less than a month ago, but it's so surprising how fast opinions can change. i shift in my seat, waiting for him to start the lesson.

i really wish i bought a coffee or something before i came to class, but i was so distracted from talking to amaya. i know how she's going to be at the mall. she's going to go all crazy and make me buy lingerie to wear in front of jack.

i'm going to take things slow with him so nothing messes up for the both of us. this experiment was tested. the outcome was that we both have strong feelings for each other. we shouldn't have them, but we do.

*

i stroll into my tiny kitchen and decide to clean up all of the flour that i didn't yesterday. jack and i made such a big mess. okay, one thing i know is that never cook anything with him.

when i'm finished wiping everything off, i search for food and realize that i have left over pancakes. they're ugly ones, so they must be the ones jack made. not caring, i put them into the microwave. food is food.

there's a knock on my door and i walk over to it. i unlock it and open it, hoping it's jack, but it's not and i grow super confused.

"max?" i say.

"hey, i don't know what made you change your mind about being with me, and it's left me utterly confused, but i wanted to give you these." he hands me a bouquet of flowers. "i respect your decision and whoever you're running off to, he's a lucky guy."

"thank you, max." i smile at him, the smell of roses wafting the area around us. "how's your ankle?"

"it doesn't hurt as bad anymore." he shrugs. "i can walk on it."

"that's good."

"yeah, also, i'm sorry for kind of snapping at you at practice the other day. i didn't mean to." he apologizes.

i take a deep breath, "it's fine." i say, hoping he didn't want to start seeing each other again after he apologized.

"i'll see you around, merc." he smiles back and then walks off down the hall, a wave of relief washes over me.

closure. that's all i needed and now guilt isn't eating me alive. i slowly shut the door and smile at my flowers. i set them down on the table and proceed with eating my pancakes and then finding a vase for the flowers after.

i scroll through my phone as i eat and there's a text message banner at the top which makes me smile again.

[jack] on my way up

[mercedes] see you in a few seconds

i quickly finish up my pancakes and them put the dirty plate, with sticky syrup, into the sink. i wash my hands and lips before there's another knock on my door. now, it's jack this time.

"hi." i smile when i open the door.

"hello." he grins, stepping inside.

i go search for a vase as he enters my dorm. i don't like skewing around with him, but i guess i'm willing to do it. i successfully find a vase and fill it with some water. i bring it back to the table and unwrap the flowers.

as i'm doing that, jack's arms go around me from behind and he kisses me beneath my earlobe. he rests his chin on my shoulder and watches what i do. i smile more to myself.

i'm happy. happy in his arms.

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