Winter Cold

Winter Cold || Extra

so this is the Valentine's extra I wrote since you all have been so sweet concerning this story. this ended up A LOT longer than I originally planned, but regardless, enjoy!

EXTRA

RASPBERRY

WHOEVER FELL IN love first lost.

Tapping his 4B pencil on the table, Finn thought this concept over, trying to figuring out where he had first heard that phrase. It sounded something one of his few friends would believe in, since they were all hopeless romantics, emphasis on the hopeless part. He sighed and stared at the abstract algebra textbook in front of him, unable to focus on the mathematical problem in front of him for what felt like the first time in three years.

"If you have any questions, I'm always here to..." Mr. Shekh's voice trailed off when Finn looked up, mildly confused at that statement. Mr. Shekh sighed. "Is there anything bothering you, maybe? We can take a break from the assignment if you want. Is it Valentine's Day? You would think your girlfriend would understand if you don't want to go on a date."

"My dad," Finn explained, turning the page in his notebook to restart the problem, "and my cousin want me to."

Mr. Shekh nodded, as though understanding. "My boyfriend hates Valentine's Day too, but I don't really mind it. Some of my students are scrambling to find dates so close to the day." He paused and looked at Finn's pencil. "What exactly about Valentine's Day is bothering you?"

Finn shrugged, unsure himself, but stored the information in his head that Mr. Shekh had a boyfriend. Was it a student? A coworker? A regular average Joe working as a nurse? "I'll work on the problem now."

"You shouldn't force yourself, Finn. If you want, you can leave early and do these practice problems at home with your homework." Mr. Shekh had been Finn's teacher for the last three years, which meant they had some form of an intimate relationship. Finn wondered if he'd get Mr. Shekh next year at college. "You can just talk, if you want, or not. But don't force yourself to do the problems. I read that keeping everything to yourself isn't good."

"It's alright," Finn said, not entirely sure if he was keeping something to himself. Just because he had to do something with Kayleigh on Valentine's Day doesn't mean it's the end of the world. "I can just do the problems." When hurt flickered on Mr. Shekh's face, Finn hesitated. Did Mr. Shekh want to talk that much? "My dad's picking me up today anyway."

"Oh." Mr. Shekh looked relieved for some reason. "I forgot you don't live in the dorms." He paused, twiddled his thumbs, and then asked, "Do you have any idea where you're going for college? You're going to hear back soon, aren't you? Any idea what you're majoring in?"

"Physics," he answered, unsure where this conversation was going. He hasn't even had this discussion with Kayleigh, or Norman, or Ignatius, and it seemed weird that he was having this conversation with Mr. Shekh first. "I haven't heard back yet."

"Right, right," his teacher said, although looking slightly impressed at Finn. "I remember when you were still a sophomore. You had no idea what you wanted to do with your future. I'm glad you at least picked a major. It's like I've seen you grow up."

Finn wondered if Mr. Shekh was right. Although he had always liked physics and math, Finn had never thought about what he was going to do in the future, much less if he even wanted to go to college. Now that it was less than year away, it seemed like there was no option for him but to go to college. Looking back on his memories, Finn remembered his first conversation with Mr. Shekh, when the man had asked him if he had anything he wanted to do in the future with his prodigal math skills. Finn remembered saying that he was going to work at Salvatore's, and after Mr. Shekh asked what Salvatore's was, Finn explained that Salvatore's was his dad's ice cream parlor.