DISCLAIMER: i wrote this chapter as well as chapter 2 & 3 (chapter 1 & 2 have been edited) almost two years ago, and I admit, they are kinda awful. I am in the process of editing them to make the story flow a little better and to provide more character development but I promise, it improves by chapter four, a lot. thank you so much for reading! if i make any edits to the beginning chapters i will let you know in the most recent chapter so you can look back and read.
Call it fate, or perhaps stupidity, but for a reason unknown I remember the day I met Mr. Ellis in great detail. There was no particular event that stood out to me, the whole ordeal was underwhelming to say the least, but the memory beats inside of me like a second heart, constantly reminding me that trying to forget something may be worse than simply remembering it.
However I do - remember, that is.
It was a Wednesday afternoon in August, the transition month between summer and fall. Beth and I sat in the lunch room exchanging how our first classes of senior year had been, when we realized, we had AP Calculus together.
"Right there! AP Calculus...Room 326 with..." Her eyes darted across my schedule, "Mr. Ellis." She smiled triumphantly as she handed me her schedule so I could confirm her new findings.
"Oh...Mr. Ellis? Never heard of him." I shoved the paper back into her hands whilst retrieving my own. Her eyes widened as the words left my mouth.
"Seriously? I have heard plenty, I'm surprised you haven't." When she realized nothing she was saying rang a bell, she continues talking. "Handsome, tall...big hands." She laughed as I playfully shoved her.
"You're disgusting." I eye her in an unapproving manner.
"You're just no fun." She sighs. The bell dismissing us to fourth period rings and Beth and I rose up from our seats in unison.
"It's the last class of our last first day, I think this is supposed to be more meaningful." I say, laughing.
Little did I know, that day was far from meaningless. That day marked the beginning of something, something I think I knew was happening from the moment I saw him.
'AP Calculus - MR ELLIS' was written in large letters on the white board behind what I presumed to be Mr. Ellis' desk, but he was nowhere to be seen when I walked into his classroom.
A specter of doubt that I had been wrong for calling Beth disgusting for her description of Mr. Ellis was raised when sly whispers from eager girls anticipating the arrival of our new teacher floated around the room.
Even then, I still remember feeling indifferent, it was only until I saw him that I knew I would never forget his face.
The whispers stopped almost at once when he burst through the doors of classroom 326. "Good afternoon class!" He rushed in with his dress shirt slightly unbutton and a stack of papers in his hand. Almost immediately I felt Beth's hand grip around mine as she squeezed tightly attempting to notify me of Mr. Ellis' very unmistakable entrance.
"Chill out." I hissed while prying her hand off of my own. "He's not even that cute." I whispered. But I was lying, he was cute, he was handsome. With his angular bone structure, impressive grey eyes, messy dark brown hair, stubble that clung to his perfect jaw line, and his sparkly smile, not to mention his lean, muscular frame that was noticeable even through it dress shirt, he was incredibly and undeniably attractive.
"Oh shut up, you're such a square." She complained but Mr. Ellis' voice diverted her attention towards him and away from me.
"The office didn't give me the attendance for this class so I had to run and get it myself." When the room remained silent upon the release of his words he continued lamely. "Right, then! Let's begin with attendance." He smiled up at us tucking in the back of his dress shirt recomposing himself from his urgent rush into the room.
"Monica Black?"
And he began, he called out each name more enthusiastic than the last and his perfect smile radiated across the room. Although, I wasn't keenly paying attention, until he reached my name.
"Eliza Woods?" His voice rang throughout the classroom as I looked up from my desk.
"Here." When his eyes landed on me his smile faltered and what looked to be uncertainty was plastered on his face, but I didn't have enough time to confirm what I thought I saw because his smile returned quickly as he looked back down to the attendance sheet and continued to call out names.
"Alright everyone, My name is Ian Ellis and I will be your new calculus teacher. Today I have an assessment test for you all. Now I know taking a test on the first day isn't ideal, but it is imperative for me to know where to pick up in the curriculum." No girl seemed to complain though, they remained entranced with his smile. "Just try your hardest and think reasonably, you all probably know quite a bit! Don't be discouraged if you can't answer every question, this is not a grade, simply just something for me."
The test wasn't the memorable detail here, it was when when I finished my test Mr. Ellis refused to make eye contact with me, even when speaking to me. He didn't just skip over my eyes, he did his best to avoid them, throughout the rest of the class his eyes never once met my own, it sent a shudder down my spine and a voice to my head saying, find out more. Nonetheless, I listened to that desperate voice.
And that was it, if you can believe it. I met Mr. Ellis, I was in his presence for an hour and thirty minutes out of that day, and then I left. But for some reason I cannot shake the feeling that this world we built began when his eyes first met my own, and perhaps he avoided my gaze because he knew that to be true just as much as I did.
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After Hours
Teen Fiction"Call it fate, or perhaps stupidity, but for a reason unknown I remember the day I met Mr. Ellis in great detail. There was no particular event that stood out to me, the whole ordeal was underwhelming to say the least, but the memory beats inside of...
