After Class (Janet and Aaliyah)

Chapter 2

Acacia

I was exhausted. First period was about to be the bane of my existence, or my favorite part of the day, depending on the way Aaliyah was feeling. When she walked into the classroom this morning, looking for the fight, I wanted to shoot myself. The students would have been a nearly perfect bunch, save for her and her attitude.

But she was so beautiful. It took all I had not to look her up and down while she took her seat, her perfectly flat stomach adorned in a flannel around her waist, the way her bangs swept over her eye, making me wish I could move the hair out of the way and stare into them intensely. When she talked to her friend, Jazmine, I think, and she smiled, I wanted to smile too. Just because. I was not ashamed to say that she was attractive.

But her attitude. It was so ugly, it clouded over her entire existence like a bad thunderstorm, and made me want to pull my hair out. And I wanted to soften her up. I wanted make her want to learn. I wanted her to be comfortable and easy around me. I wanted to know her. I knew that there was kind in her, she just wasn't open. That would change. I had a feeling we'd be spending a good amount of time together.

  "Knock knock," a male voice said through the classroom door. I didn't recognize it, but then again, I didn't know anyone here except the principal.

  "Come in."

  A tall, fair-skinned man came confidently through the door with a perfect, white smile. "Hi, you must be Acacia?"

  "I am, sorry, I don't know your name." I got up from my desk to shake his hand. As I got closer, I could see he had little dimples in his cheeks, and green eyes. A very attractive man.

  "Matthew Hemphill, but you can call me Matt. I'm the physics teacher right down the hall from you, room 246. And I coach boys basketball." He pointed out and into the hallway. "I just wanted to welcome you to our staff, see how you're settling in. I have a free period right now, so if you ever need anything, I'm right down the hall."

  "Okay, well it's very nice to meet you. Thank you, Matthew." I smiled at him. He was so friendly.

  "Call me Matt," he responded. "Please."

  "Sure thing."

There was a bit of an awkward silence, and I knew it was my fault. I wasn't good at small talk, especially with people I'd just met.

  "When is you lunch period? If you want, we can grab something, if it lines up. I wouldn't want you eating by yourself."

  "I think it's 5th hour. I would love to go to lunch."

  "Perfect, me too! Well, there is the teacher's lounge, but that's for all of the old, stuffy, English teachers. Primarily. So how about we go somewhere else. Panera, maybe?"

  "Panera sounds great," I chuckled, trying to put some of my hair behind my ear.

  "So, are there any students that are giving you trouble? I might have some of them, I can tell you how to figure them out," Matt began in a hushed tone, taking a seat in a students' desk. I leaned on the top of mine.

  "Oh, it's funny you should ask that... there is one girl in particular that came in late today, loud, using some questionable language for the classroom."

  "Aaliyah Haughton, isn't it?"

  "How did you know that?"

  "I had her last year. What I can say about her is I know she is very smart, and she is a sweetheart when she wants to be. And like you, I've talked to other teachers about her behavior, and math and science just aren't where her heart is, so she doesn't like to try."