after class

three

wednesday, the girl is walking home from class with april's mild afternoon sunshine beaming down on her skin. although spring has just emerged, the sun and hot temperatures are not shy, and they had hastily warmed the girl's small college campus in the last few weeks.
as soon as she gets to her dorm, the girl changes out of her sweaty outfit and dresses accordingly for a brief study date with her friends. she waves goodbye to her roommate, slips on a pair of sunglasses and her backpack, and begins walking to a nearby coffee joint.
on the way, the teacher crosses the girl's mind, as he has the day before and the day before that. it is like she has no form of control over it: whenever he makes his way back into her brain, her heart accelerates and leaps around in her chest. his carelessly pushed-back dark hair, deep hazel eyes, and bold features. his rich, piney scent and his professional, yet attractive, attire. he strikes the girl in a way that none of the boys on campus, or no other man in general, does. but reluctantly, the girl continues telling the aching desires in her head that her little crush is getting out of hand.
she takes a breath and pushes open the small coffee shop's door, her two best friends beckoning her in with latte-mustached smiles.

-

leaving his briefcase and stack of ungraded papers in the passenger seat, the young professor steps out of his car and prepares to unwind from his day at work with a cold brew. he dusts his hands on his crisp white shirt and opens the door to his favorite coffee shop in town, mindlessly getting in line with his order already set.
and that's when he sees her.
from a small round table of three young women, one of his students rises and walks towards the bathrooms. it's her.
she had changed after classes, and is now in a casual but cute floral-patterned dress that flows lightly and falls high above her knees. a pair of red heart-shaped sunglasses rest on the top of her head. her full lips are slightly parted, and her long hair bounces after her. just her gait alone is feminine and youthful. the teacher can't pull his eyes away from his student, until she disappears around the corner. he stands still for a moment, and only snaps out of his trance when a voice at the counter asks him impatiently for his order.
the teacher orders, pays, and takes his drink back out to his car before the girl makes her reappearance.
tomorrow is thursday, and he knows he'll be seeing her for another tutoring session. but will he stop thinking about her and her simple appearance in the coffee shop before then? unlikely, he knows. something about her is like a magnetic force on him, and its power had always originally been subtle, yet there. but now, he thought, it was significantly more prominent. he is fascinated by her. ever since that day when the girl had come in late, and ever since she had agreed to extra tutoring with him. monday, to be precise.
the teacher drives home, an old and velvety jazz song on the radio already reminding him of the sway of the girl's dress around her smooth legs.
he ponders the girl for a while more. sure, she doesn't say much, especially in class among her energetic peers. yet, there is something about her.
something that is locking itself in place in his brain.