Letters to Teacher

Chapter Two

The entire week, Dean tried to figure out who this student was but he was no closer than he was on Monday. None of the papers told Dean who it was and it was starting to frustrate him. On Tuesday, the mysterious student told Dean how angry he was at him for being attractive. Wednesday, the same student told Dean that his favorite memory when Dean worked the dunk tank at the end of summer festival and smiled every time a student dunked him, telling them how proud he was at their great aim. Thursday, Dean learned that the student's favorite holiday was Halloween because you could pretend to be someone you aren't and they got to pretend that they were someone Dean could be with. On Friday, Dean told them they didn't have to write anymore papers. They got to use the class time to catch up on other classes.

"Okay," Dean walked to the front of his desk a few minutes before the bell was scheduled to ring and the students would be free for a whole week of spring break. "I know you all still have your final paper for the year that you are working on. I know realistically, most of you aren't going to do any school work during break, and I don't blame you, I wouldn't either. That being said, I know that a few of you are going to be working on your bigger assignments. If you have any problems at all, feel free to email me. I will be on vacation with my family but I have written my personal email on the board. Email me, day or night, with any questions."

"You are going to get so much spam," Ash laughed, high fiving Jo, who was sitting next to him.

"I am aware of this," Dean laughed. "Good thing I have a sense of humor and complete control over the grade you get at the end of the year."

"Burn," Charlie stuck her tongue out at Ash.

Before Dean could say anything else, the bell rang and students were out of their seats and flooding out into the hallways. Dean looked back at the board as the last student exited his class, his email boldly written. This was his last chance.

_____

Dean was on a plane only hours after school got out. He was headed back to Kansas to spend some time with his mom. After his father had passed away the year before, he tried to go home as often as possible to see her. She told him that she was doing well and he didn't need to, but he wanted to. He wanted to do all the things for her that she couldn't do or wouldn't ask for help with, like changing light bulbs and taking care of random leaks in the house.

Once on the plane, Dean hook his computer up to the wifi, which would suck but it was better than nothing, and then settled in. He figured he could watch a movie or catch up on some more school work. That was when he noticed the alert on the bottom of the screen, letting him know he had three new emails. Dean thought about ignoring them, but he couldn't. What if the student had messaged him.

Mills, Jody End of year festival. 4:55 pm

Dean knew that she was going to ask him to be in the dunk tank again. He would gladly say yes but it was an email that could wait for another time.

Salliemae Notice of scheduled payments. 4:32 pm

If this student didn't end up being the death of him, school loans sure would be.

And then.

Spock, Captain Hello Mr. Winchester. 4:02 pm

Dean laughed at the name but swallowed hard when it saw the subject line. It was obviously the first of many jokes that were going to be played on him during his vacation. It was probably Ash, or judging by the nerdy context, it could very well be Charlie. Dean thought about putting it off until later, but curiosity once again got the best of him.

I never really thought I would be doing this. At first, I wasn't going to. But then I realized, you can make up all kinds of things on the internet. I don't have to use my real and you never have to know who I am. But this way, maybe I can talk to you, even if just once. So, if you are interested in hearing what I have to say, let me know.

Dean knew that he shouldn't respond. He did not need for things to get out of hand. This was something that could possibly get him into trouble. But, he needed to know. He really needed to know. So, without overthinking it, Dean clicked reply.

I am not really sure why I am doing this. Do you know why I am doing this? No, of course not. I guess I am curious. Do you possibly have messenger? We could have a real conversation. I would very much be interested in hearing what you have to say, even if it is just to clear some things up.

Dean. Or Mr. Winchester if you prefer.

P.S. My IM is ImpalaRock67

Dean read over the email a few times. He thought about deleting it but he didn't have that kind of control. Finally, he pressed send. Now all he had to do was wait. Fortunately, he didn't have to wait long. Not even five minutes had passed before his instant messenger alerted him that he had a new message.

Captain.spock.333: Hello, Dean. It's okay that I call you Dean, right?

Impalarock67: Yes, that is fine. And what do I call you?

Captain.spock.333: I guess you could call me Captain, or Spock even.

Impalarock67: That seems a little impersonal. But, Spock it is.

Captain.spock.333: Thank you.

Captain.spock.333: I can't believe you actually responded to me.

Impalarock67: Well, honestly, I was kind of hoping you would email me. It was my last idea.

Captain.spock.333: Your last idea? What was your last idea?

Impalarock67: Giving them entire class my personal email. I kind of hoped you would message me.

Captain.Spock.333: What was your first idea?

Impalarock67: Making you all write a bunch of assignments, hoping you would slip up and give away your identity.

Captain.spock.333: I am much smarter than that.

Impalarock67: I can see that.

Impalarock67: Can you give me any information about you at all?

Captain.spock.333: Maybe. I guess you can ask. I may answer, I may tell you no.

Impalarock67: I can live with that. For now.

Impalarock67: Are you male or female?

Captain.spock.333: Would either of those make you stop talking to me?

Impalarock67: No.

Captain.spock.333: Then male.

Impalarock67: And why did you write those papers to me?

Captain.spock.333: I thought that was kind of obvious.

Captain.spock.333: I think you are cute and I would really like to get to know you.

Impalarock67: I am your teacher.

Captain.spock.333: So, that means we can't get to know each other.

Impalarock67: Maybe. I don't know. I guess not.

Dean could not believe he was doing this.

Impalarock67: What would you like to know?