“I’m twenty-eight, and I have a PhD in mathematics. Will those qualifications suffice?” I ask, earning a few sniggers from the back row.
“A doctor,” she says, narrowing her eyes. “What college did you go to?”
“Stanford. And don’t call me doctor, please. I detest formality.”
A boy raises his hand in the back. “Can we call you Brody then, sir?”
“Or Brodes,” another says, causing half the class to laugh.
I already have a headache and press my fingers against the bridge of my nose. “Brody is fine. Actually, no, the faculty rules prevent that. So, Mr. Miller is the best we get.”
There’s a collective groan as many complain that it’s unfair that teachers can call students by their first name, but students—especially seniors don’t get the same privileges.
It takes a moment to get everyone back on track, but once I assign some work, I decide I’ve had enough door watching and go in search of Maya myself. “If I can trust you to work amongst yourselves, I think I should probably check on…er...” I stop myself before I speak her name, knowing that it’s knowledge I shouldn’t have.
“Her name is Maya,” the girl in the front row says, seeming unfazed that her friend has been missing for a solid fifteen minutes. “She’s probably just in the bathroom.”She can’t be that great a friend if she didn’t offer to go in my place. Maya deserves better.
“Then that’s where I’ll check,” I say, telling the class I’ll be five minutes tops.
As I make my way down the hall, I fist my hands at my sides, opening and closing them as I try not to freak the fuck out. It’s not easy. My entire body is a sparked nerve. One of the cardinal rules of teaching is that you never get involved with a pupil. I’ve barely started my career as an educator, and I’ve already messed that part up.
I hesitate outside the girl’s bathroom before knocking on the door and going inside. “Maya?” I find her at the basin, pressing paper towel against her damp face.
“I’m sorry I ran out,” she says, dropping the paper towel in the trash.
I look around to make sure we’re alone before I address her, keeping my voice low so we can’t be heard. “You’ve done nothing wrong. I, on the other hand…”
“I know.” Her lips wobble. “But this means we’re through, doesn’t it?” she asks, hiccupping her words.
“What? No,” I say instinctively before reality sets in. “I don’t know. I don’t want to stop seeing you. But I think…” I blow out my breath, hating everything about this. “It’s really bad timing.”
“The worst.” She sniffs.
“A couple of months, and this wouldn’t matter at all.”
She nods, and I hate that she’s so upset and I can’t even hug her right now or do anything to make it better. “I thought you were in college.”
“I am, technically. I’ve completed my PhD, but I also wanted my teaching credentials. That’s what I’m completing now.”
“So, you’re a student teacher?”
I let out a short laugh as I run my hand across my face. “Kind of. It’s complicated.”
“You’re telling me.” She looks down at her hands, and I can’t help but wish I had the emboldened Maya from last night back. The one who cast her nerves aside and let me do things to her body that made her claw at my back and scream my name.God, I hate this.
“I thought you were in college too, you know.”
She meets my eyes, and her mouth quirks up at the side. “I got my acceptance letter at the start of the break. So, almost.”
“Where to?”
“Cornell.”
“New York?” I can’t hide my reaction. I just found her, and now I learn not only can I not have her until after graduation, but she’s about to leave the state too. My window with her is ridiculously small. It’s not enough. “You’re leaving.” I place a hand on the basin to maintain my balance. “Why so far?”
“My family.”
“You want to get away from them.”
