It's Always Been You

Chapter 22

"Hey, Mr. Suzuki. How was your break?" Luke sauntered into the classroom.

"Refreshing. Take your seats, we'll be starting right away." From the corner of his eye he could see Ariana greeting her students similarly and chatting with Dr. Morgan.

The final bell rang and he followed the last student into the classroom. "Welcome back everyone. I hope you had a good four-day weekend." He grabbed a stack of papers from his desk and walked over to the front of the class. "Today, we'll be starting our unit on poetry. This unit will be running into the new year."

He heard some students groan. "Now, now." He chuckled. "Don't be too hasty." He set the stack on his podium and instructed his students to take out a sheet of paper. "We'll start with this exercise: when you hear the word poetry, what do you think of?"

# # #

"Ben?"

He looked up from the paper he was skimming over. "Hey, Regina."

She walked into his classroom from their shared door. "Are you doing okay?"

He set the paper down. "Yes? Why wouldn't I be?"

"The talk going around campus."

"Oh." He sighed. "There's nothing going on, you know that."

"I know, but I just want to make sure you're okay. Andrew and I are here if you want to talk."

He shifted in his seat, startled by her consideration. "Thanks."

The door to his classroom opened and Ariana's head popped into view. "Hi, Regina," she greeted happily. She turned to Ben. "Suzuki, what's the name of the bakery your mom buys from?"

"Dessert Sweets?"

"That's the one! Thanks." She slipped back out.

Ben's eyes lingered on the door.

Regina sighed.

"What is it?"

She gave him a small smile. "I know you said it's nothing, but do you want it to be something?"

He shook his head, returning his attention to the work on his desk. "Of course not."

"Why not?"

He could feel her eyes boring into his head. "Because Flores is Flores and I'm me."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Trust me, it doesn't make sense to pursue anything." He eyed the paperwork piled on top of his desk. "Maybe, once, a long time ago, but not now. Probably never," he admitted.

Regina pressed her lips together. "Ben?"

He felt his chest constrict. "Let's not talk about this anymore, please."

# # #

He walked into his mom's living room and let the smell of his grandma's chicken and rice overwhelm him.

"Ben," Jonathan greeted from the dining table, the light from his laptop shining onto his face.

"Hey," Ben walked over to the table. "What are you working on?"

"Poster designs and stuff." His fingers paused over his keyboard. "Did you know Ariana didn't spend Thanksgiving with her family?"

"What did she end up doing?"

Jonathan shrugged. "Marco told me there's some tension between Ariana and her parents." He turned his head, eyeing his little brother. "He also mentioned you took her somewhere last Sunday. What's that all about?"