After Class (Janet and Aaliyah)

Chapter 44

Acacia

I knocked on Matt's classroom door 10 minutes into second period, after cursing myself all the way down the desert hallway. Why me, I kept thinking. Why couldn't we just drop it. I had no clue what I was going to say once we faced each other, but whatever came out of my mouth, I knew it had to be sweet and alluring. I had to seduce him mentally.

My first period math class had never felt so cold as Aaliyah brushed past me without so much as a passing glance. She was selling it a little too hard for my preference. What's worse, she was back to completely tuning out my lectures, gossiping with Jazmine in tiny whispers, and I didn't have the wherewithal to scold her today. There was no use.

  "It's open," Matt called through the door. I opened it slowly, taking a deep breath as I entered. He was sitting at his desk doing idle teacher work. He didn't even look up to see who had walked through the threshold. I was happy he didn't.

I decided to kick this off the right way and wore a an almost too tight skirt suit with stilettos and my hair down. I almost never wore it down to work anymore. But I had to get my foot in the door somehow.

  "Hey, good morning," I started timidly. Matt glanced up and did a double take. My body got hot.

  "Good morning... what can I do for you?" He eyed me carefully before letting his light hazel orbs rake my body from top to bottom without a hint of shame. It made me feel just a little cheap.

  "Do you have a moment?" I toyed with the stud in my ear.

  "Yes. Have a seat." He stood up from his desk and met me in a student desk. I felt a little less small under his gaze as he crossed his legs straight out underneath him.

  "Well, I wanted to see if you were feeling better. I know you left early yesterday." I searched his head for the butterfly bandage that he sported the day before. It was gone, but a scab did remain in its place. The cut looked pretty deep. It made me wish I had seen the fall for myself. I could only imagine him, drunk and heavy, stumbling into a coffee table and collapsing on a hard floor. The scene was not pretty and definitely would have startled me.

  "Yeah, um, thank you. I was getting a headache, and the doctor told me that they might persist for a while, since I did hit my head. Minor concussion." He was so casual about it. Nothing in his voice or eyes seemed forced, as if we had no animosity between us. I appreciated it. I felt more comfortable as I asked him if he minded that I remove my shoes. He shook his head no and I kicked them off, stretching my feet against the hard, low-pile carpet.

  "Really?" I said. His eyes darted to the door in a frantic manner. I didn't understand why. No one was around.

  "I, uh, was a little confused when I woke up, and yesterday I was nauseous. They said it was minor, but I don't know. One moment I'm fine, and then—"

  "I'm sorry to hear that."

  "Yeah. I'll get over it. I'm used to being banged up, you know, with basketball and everything."

I'd almost forgotten he was an athlete, a coach. There was more to him than what I'd seen in the last few months working here.

  "How is the season going?" I inquired.

  "We are 9 and 0 right now."

  "That's fantastic."

  "Yeah, our seniors this year are all very promising. Do you... do you like basketball? Or sports?"

  "I love basketball. It's the only sport I watch, actually." I thought back to high school and going to all the home games. Me and Gina seemed like the loudest ones in the stands.