"I will drop you off at the airport tonight," I threaten. He doesn't take my words seriously— because they aren't actually serious— and gets into the passenger seat. After Vishal left the bathroom, the mood was over and I came to my senses. I think Nelson did too, because he took a solid step back and was the first to leave the bathroom. I had to adjust myself in my slacks before walking back across the restaurant to the table. Nelson was already gone.
"You could do worse than him," Vishal says casually. "He's a bit… scruffy, but has a cuteness to him."
I groan, because he's exactly right. Nelson's earnestness to learn the material I'm teaching, on top of the small gestures, like loaning me his shirt, gives him an air of sincerity which is rare to see so openly in someone. I might have a little crush and I might have definitely thought about pushing that peck of a kiss into a bathroom hookup, but I'm glad we were interrupted. I'm not sure how we would have been able to be in the classroom after that.
I can see the silent laughter in Vishal's eyes when I glance over at him. My cheeks burn with being called out so accurately and it doesn't help that the sun is still another hour from setting so my best friend can see it. I whip my hand across the space between us and smack him in his chest. That pushes out another round of laughter from him and I go back to driving.
My apartment isn't too far from the restaurant. We were planning on going to the one that Nelson had suggested, but after Vishal's business meeting went long, we decided to grab something locally. I'm glad we did; the guys really are fun to hang out with.
"Good morning, Katie. Tracy." I greet the two friends as they walk into the classroom. They give me a quick nod before turning to sit at their usual desk. I glance around, most of the class is already here. Nelson is not. I shuffle the quizzes once more on my desk, hoping that I really didn't screw things up and he feels awkward. I thought about emailing him over the weekend, but I don't want anything in writing on an official school email.
At eight-oh-five, I stand up and move to shut the door. I stick my head out and have to tamp down a smile when I see Nelson walking down the hall. I step fully into the hall and move to keep the doorway clear. "Everything okay this morning?" I ask. He's always been the first one here so far.
"Yeah." He says it with a sigh that signals things definitely aren't okay. "One of the calves got out of the enclosure and I had to hunt her down this morning. Not a fun time playing is that mud or shit."
I see William turn his head at the comment. He's sitting at the first desk closest to the door. At first I thought maybe my brief talk about the rules had changed his view, but I've come to realize it's the fastest way out of this class as soon as I dismiss them.
"Alright, let's get started." I address the class as I grab the quizzes on my desk. "Scores were collectively higher on this quiz than the first one, so congratulations on that. A few of you still need to make sure you're reading the questions correctly before answering. I walk around and place each quiz face down. "Again, if you have any questions for me regarding the quiz, I will be here for a while after class to answer them. For now, let's get into the final section before the test on Thursday."
I boot up my computer and get the slideshow ready before connecting my laptop to the projector. We go slide-by-slide. I make sure to give enough time for those that are taking notes to get everything down. Nelson isn't the only one that writes notes by hand, but there are a handful that don't take notes at all. The rest are typing on their laptops. If they're actually typing or doing something else, I'm not sure.
When eleven o' clock hits, everyone is packed up and heading out the door. I'm slightly disappointed that no one has stayed behind to ask questions. Outside of Nelson, that is. I nod to the last of the students before closing the door and walking overto Nelson's desk. He has his quiz out, but I see the way he's avoiding my eyes and tapping his fingers on the tabletop.
He's nervous and I know I'm the reason. I move the chair a bit further away from him before sitting down. He notices the move and sighs.
"I'm sorry."
We say the words at the same time, eyes meeting as the room goes quiet again. I speak first.
"I shouldn't have crossed the line on Friday. I'm sorry if I've made things uncomfortable."
He tilts his head just slightly. "It's my fault. I could have just walked around you instead of leaning over like that."
"We can go back and forth on this, blaming ourselves, but how about we just say it happened, we're glad nothing more happened, and move on?"
Nelson nods once, but is back to avoiding my eyes. "I can do that."
"Did you have any questions about the quiz or the material we went over?" I change the subject and see his shoulders relax a bit.
"The material today, no." He turns his quiz around and taps on question three. "This, though, I don't get where I went off on it."
I spend the next ten minutes explaining the difference between what he wrote and what I was looking for. As I coach him with questions instead of just giving him the answer, he comes to the right conclusion. It gives more solidity to my theory and I try to think of a way to bring it up to him. It isn't until he's packing up that I ask.
"Nelson?" I look up at him. He's standing now and I'm still in my chair. "I know you've mentioned before that you aren't a great test taker and you've shown me that you know the material. I feel like you just get tripped up on the writing portion." He nods and I can see him swallow while staringintently at his bookbag. "Would you consider doing an oral quiz?"
"What?" His face is full of shock, his mouth hanging open, and I can see a transition from embarrassment to… anger? "I'm not… I know we almost kissed on Friday, but I don't… "
His stammering words finally click in my brain and I stand up, holding out a hand. "Oh god, no. Nelson, an oral quiz is just where I read the question to you and you tell me the answer. Like we just did. It's not… Oral."
I want to laugh at the misunderstanding, but I bite the inside of my cheeks to stifle it. He's still staring at me, but I can see the gears cranking.
"Oh, wow. I've obviously never heard of that before. Is that allowed?" He slings his bookbag onto his shoulders and adjusts the straps.
"I can make it allowed," I say. "It's not a big deal, really. I figured I would offer it to you because you clearly know the answers. I've done it for students in the past. We can at least try it and if you don't prefer it, we can go back to this way."
"Wouldn't it be a distraction for others?"
Oh, there's that cuteness Vishal hit on on Friday. I offer a quick smile and shake my head. "If you have the time, we can do it after class like this or we'd just go in the hallway while everyone else is taking theirs."
