Mrs. Parker

Chapter 2

I sighed as I looked at the clock but not for the reasons most of my classmates did. They sighed because there were still twenty minutes left, I sighed because there were only twenty minutes left.  I looked toward Irene who was at her desk and was pleasantly surprised when she was already looking at me.  She immediately diverted her eyes from me and glanced at the floor before looking up and offering a sheepish grin.  

"Hannah?" my group member Jake asked as he waved a hand in front on my face. 

"Yeah?" I replied with mock calm while a blush crept its way up my neck.

"You with us?"

"Yep. Totally and completely." I offered up a smile.  He shrugged and looked back down to "The Love song of J. Alfred Prufrock" and read it carefully.  We had been assigned a brief, in-class essay analyzing the literary devices throughout the poem and how they helped to shape the poem.  "It's three paragraphs, no conclusion, right?" I asked.

"Yeah that sounds right."

"I think we should focus on enjambment and the repeated use of the refrain "In the room women come and go / Talking of Michelangelo" for the two analytical paragraphs and then we obviously need an introductory paragraph."

"Sounds good.  We can both write the introductory paragraph and then you take the repetition paragraph and I'll do the enjambment paragraph." 

"Okay, perfect." I agreed.  We got to work briskly, considering that we only had fifteen minutes to write this.  We worked quickly and pieced together the paper with a few minutes to spare.  I took advantage of these few minutes and looked over at Irene which was usually what I did with my free time anyway.  She was beautiful.  She would have complained at how her impeccably straightened, shoulder-length blonde hair had fallen out its place behind her ear or how she was furrowing her brows which, according to her, added ten years to her face…But this was when I found her the most beautiful. When she was fully engulfed in a book and would raise an eyebrow every so often to show surprise or humor and how her lip would ever so slightly curl upward when she read a line that she liked.  I always wondered why Irene had chosen me. Why she decided I was worthy of her company. She was beautiful and smart and well-rounded and I was never sure why she picked me but I was sure as hell glad she did.  My thoughts were interrupted by the noise of the bell ringing, signaling the end of my AP Lit class. I did my usual routine of taking absolutely forever to gather my notebook and my phone so that I would be the last one out.  Once the last kid was walking out I got up from my desk and walked towards Irene's.  She looked up from her book and smiled her magnificent smile.

"Hey." She said nonchalantly as she stood and walked toward me.

"Hi." I smiled as she linked her arms around my waist. I wrapped my arms around her neck and placed a quick kiss on her lips. She smiled and moved us toward a desk. My legs hit the desk and I eagerly sat down as she pressed herself even closer to me.  She kissed me again but this kiss was longer, more passionate.  "I'm sure glad you have a free period after this." I mumbled against her lips.

"Yes, but you don't." she replied as she stepped away from me. I frowned at the loss of contact and groaned.  "It's just math class with Mr. Williams. He's so old he probably won't even notice." 

"I doubt that." She kissed my forehead and dragged me off the desk.  

"Ugh, fine. When will I see you?" Irene bit her lip, a gesture which would have usually turned me on to no end, but just made a knot in my stomach at the uncertainty that was written all over her face. "Tomorrow night maybe?"

"Tomorrow?" I complained. "Baby, I'm sorry. I'll try for tonight but you know I can't make any promises." 

"I know." I muttered as I looked at the floor. 

"You'll see me in class tomorrow for sure. Hey, maybe tomorrow you can just stay here and miss math. You said he wouldn't notice right?" 

"Yeah he totally wouldn't." I said excitedly. She smiled and apologized again. "So I'll see you tomorrow?" 

"You will." She replied. I leaned toward her and kissed her. When she pulled away she entwined our fingers. "I love you." She said as she placed a light kiss on the back of my hand. "I love you too." I smiled like an idiot like I always did and was on my way to Mr. Williams class.

A/N: I just wanted to thank all of you readers for the feedback on this story, I'm glad to know people are liking it so far!:) Also, I was thinking of writing the next chapter in Irene's point of view and maybe switching back and forth? Let me know what you guys think!!