I was in earlier than usual the next day for some reason. I guess it was because I was sleeping better lately so I didn't sleep in as much in the mornings.
No one else was in yet, out of my friend(s) that was. So I spent the morning walking around, trying to warm up.
After about ten minutes of wandering around aimlessly, I saw Mr Way power-walking across the campus with a lot of paperwork. He looked pretty flustered.
I decided to go to Homeroom early and asked if I could go to Drama straight away. My teacher was a bit hesitant at first but agreed when I said I needed extra tuition from Mr Way. It wasn't exactly a lie but it wasn't really the truth either.
I made my way to Drama, feeling a bit comprehensive. I still felt like I had done something wrong yesterday but I knew I hadn't. Mr Way's reaction was still reasonless though.
I knocked for the first time in a couple of weeks and I heard his usual, "Enter!"
He looked over as I entered the room and I was grateful to see a smile overtake his features.
"Mr Iero, what a pleasant surprise." He was standing behind his desk, filing through some of that paperwork from earlier.
I made my way over to him and stopped in front of the desk, kicking the floor a little out of embarrassment.
"I saw you walking across campus," I found myself mumbling, "And you looked um... Stressed?" I frowned at my choice of words.
His expression softened to a admiring simper. "Did you come to check on me?" He asked.
I felt my cheeks blaze and I quickly looked down to hide my face.
"I was just wondering if you wanted any uh help..." I mentally slapped myself for sounding like a loser. This had never been a good idea.
"That would be grand. Thank you very much, Iero."
I looked up again to see a full-blown grin on his face. He actually looked really pleased by my proposition.
"Grab a chair," He nodded towards the stacks of chairs next to the wall.
I quickly grabbed one and placed it in front of the desk. Before I could sit down though, Mr Way said, "Come sit this side. You'll be able to see then."
I was confused at first but I picked up the chair and moved it next to his, finally sitting down.
He was now sat in his chair and was counting some permission slips.
I waited as he did that. I couldn't help but feel a little awkward though.
"Right." He picked up a different piece of paper and a yellow highlighter. "Could you go through the slips and highlight each student's name when you come across their slip?"
I nodded and took the list of names and highlighter off of him, placing them in front of me on the desk.
"Thank you very much," His grin was back. "I've just got to make a call. I shall be back in uno momento."
He then jumped up and left the room, taking his phone out and dialling a number.
I started on my task, wondering how this was even happening. Since when was I such a teacher's pet? I was so sad.
When I had finished, I waited nervously. Part of me wanted to leave out of awkwardness but I enjoyed Mr Way's company so I couldn't bring myself to go.
Why did I enjoy spending time with him so much anyway? I really needed a reality check. He was a teacher, not a friend.
Before I could psyche myself out even more, he entered the room again with his ever present smile.
"Have you finished?" He asked as he reached the desk.
I nodded silently. Where had my voice gone?
Mr Way rounded the desk and sat back in his chair, moving it closer to mine as he looked over the list.
"I'm glad so many of you want to see this play," He was practically swooning about that fact. He really did enjoy Performing Arts, didn't he?
"You said it was a good play," I shrugged, slightly surprised at how mellow I sounded.
"It is indeed." He looked at me again, placing a hand on my shoulder. "I just want to say thank you for your concern this morning. When I first started here, I was told students wouldn't care how I felt."
I frowned at that. What a load of bullshit.
"Then again, it was my brother who told me that so I suppose I shouldn't have believed it. He's around your age, you know."
That revelation suddenly made me feel really young again.
"I think you two would be friends," Mr Way carried on, "He goes to one of the schools across the city."
That didn't help how I felt at all. Of course Mr Way didn't see me as a friend. He just saw me as some child who just happened to have a bit of a crush on him.
Wait-
Did I have a crush on him? Well, since his hand on my shoulder was making my stomach do backflips, I must do. Oh, fuck my life.
"Thank you again for the help." Mr Way squeezed my shoulder a little before letting go of it completely.
"I haven't done much," I muttered, angry about my new admittance to myself.
"The gesture was enough," Mr Way was leafing through more paperwork. "I shouldn't be stressing so much anyhow. The trip isn't until after school and I've been assigned a TA just in case."
"Oh okay," I said dumbly, running out of coherent sentences apparently.
"It should be a satisfactory evening out. It will be," He said, more to himself than to me.
I could tell he was worried about it all and before I could stop myself, I said, "It'll be great, Sir. Especially as you're in charge."
He looked up sharply at my words and stared at me for a moment before beaming. His expression changed so fast, it took me a moment to register it.
"That's what I needed to hear. Thank you very much, Frank," He patted me on the shoulder again, lingering on the last pat before pulling away completely.
He checked his watch and stood up. "The lesson begins soon."
I understood what he was getting at and stood up as well, moving my chair into the middle of the room, facing the stage.
"I'm looking forward to this play." Mr Way was cleaning his desk up a bit.
"Me too." I realised that as soon as I said that, I actually was looking forward to it.
---
I luckily haven't had the misfortune to formulate a crush on a teacher. I feel sorry for those that do.
-Beth :3
