after class

one

the door to a large, brightly lit classroom creaks open, making all the students in the desks turn to look.
a girl, one of their classmates, steps in shyly. the clock on the wall reads that she is seven minutes late.
"you're late, again. take a seat." a stern voice says from the front of the room.
the girl blushes as she looks at her professor, quickly walking over to an empty desk.
"yes sir. I'm sorry." she sets her bag down and sits, beginning to pull out her books.
the teacher watches her, his face still stern but tenderness flashing in his eyes. she opens her literature notebook as he continues on with the lecture.
throughout the rest class, the girl cannot keep her eyes on her work. she keeps glancing up at the attractive young man as he teaches, a slight blush forming on her cheeks each time. her little crush has been a secret since the beginning of the semester.
distracted by her dreamy thoughts, she wonders what would happen if she attempted to flirt with him. was there a way to be subtle, yet noticeable?
she crosses her legs, and pulls her skirt higher up on them. as he lectures, she stares at him while slightly biting her lip, then nibbles the end of her pen.
the teacher glances at her briefly during the lesson, his eyes pausing on her legs. he notices her actions, and takes a breath.

later, the bell rings to indicate the end of class. the professor asks the students to turn their classwork in to him as they exit the room. they breeze by him one by one, nearly throwing their papers into his hands before carelessly grabbing their homework.
the students dwindle, and the girl walks at the end. her face shows nothing, except a faint blush, as she hands a page of neatly done work to the teacher. he doesn't look at her.
however, as he passes the girl her homework and she takes hold of it, he doesn't let go.
"would you like to explain why you were late today?"
blood rushes to the girl's cheeks as she struggles to piece together the best way to say she overslept.
"I've been trying my best, but I've just been very tired, stressed, and burned out lately. I'm sorry sir, I'll try to make sure it doesn't happen again." Her voice is shy and soft.
the teacher nods slowly, now looking at her. he folds his hands and frowns slightly.
"I understand that you are stressed, but I have also noticed your grade in this class has slipped due to that. is there anything I can do to help? you were doing great before." his voice lightens.
the girl glances down at her feet in worry.
"I've been trying to improve, but I guess I got overwhelmed and fell behind. I'm not sure how to get completely caught up."
the teacher thinks briefly, and then looks back at the delicate features of the girl's face.
"you could come to a few of my office hours, for tutoring sessions. I'd be more than happy to help you catch up." a smile appears on his face.
the girl seems slightly relieved.
"that sounds great, which days should I come in?"
the teacher thinks again, and then asks, "how about today around four and hmm.. thursday at the same time? do those times work for you?"
the girl smiles softly and nods. "yes sir, that will work."
and with everything settled, the girl exits the classroom and moves on to her next class, leaving her teacher alone in thought.