He thought about moving her. He doesn't usually let anything unnerve him but this was different. Right in the front row, just inches away from where he always stood, was Kat. Her calculating eyes watched his every move with a slight smirk playing upon her lips. He was tempted to ask her what she thought was so amusing but knowing her, she would answer honestly. He continued his lesson, fiddling with his hands more often than usual and he noticed two girls in the back giggling and imitating him. He gave them an indifferent look that silenced them and he continued with a roll of his eyes.
The topic was enzymes. And, curse his pre-made outlines, the stressed example was the stupid handshake thing. He didn't want to demonstrate with that other kid on his left, who constantly wiped his runny nose on the edge of his palm. Just the thought made him cringe. But then there was Kat, leaning forward and her chin resting on her crossed fingers. Lightly, he added to the class, "You can't shake hands with a stiff hand, right?"
He splayed his fingers in front of Kat for her to attempt to shake. She looked at his hands wide eyed At first, but eventually imitated the form of hand and attempted to shake his hand. "An enzyme changes its shape to envelop the small substrate," He cleared his throat. He changed the position of his fingers so they could envelop her hand. Kat's hand wasn't small, but his hand was enormous in comparison so the example fit perfectly. Their eyes locked for a brief moment until the bell rang.
Kat didn't hesitate to gather her things and make her way out of the classroom. She didn't give him a chance to say goodbye. Not that he should have since he doesn't do those types of things with his students. Then again, he didn't sleep with his students on a regular basis either.
The next day, she missed school. It was the day of a quiz and he tried to smother the small bubble of excitement knowing she would have to make it up. The day she came back to school she was as distant as ever. Usually she engaged herself in the lesson, half-heartedly on some days but today she just leaned on her palm and stared at the board. It didn't matter to him that she would almost always answer with the wrong responses. It was the participation that mattered.
When she did talk, it was to joke with her desk partner. Their annoying laughs distracted him more than he usually let student disruptions get to him. Finally giving in to his anger he tapped her side of the desk. "Move to the desk in the back," he said calmly while pointing to the lone rows on the far side of the classroom. She raised an eyebrow at him as if silently asking him if he was seriously going there. When his finger kept pointing to the desk, she rolled her eyes and moved her things to the farthest desk from the front of the room. Her desk partner turned around to give her an apologetic look but she just shrugged at him.
