“So what happens now?”
“Can’t you just kick him out of the club?” I jokingly ask, having no clue what I’m going to do.
“Come on, this isn’t that bad,” she responds.
“I know, just sucks. I’ve still only been with him, and I don’t want him to ruin my time there.”
“You know you don’t have to be with him at the club. There are rules for this kind of drama, and yes, we can kick him out if he tries to stop you.”
“No.” I sigh. “It’s not that serious. I just don’t know what to do.”
“Well, even if you do figure out the club situation, you still have to deal with him being your teacher. How the hell do you always get yourself in these situations?” she teases.
“Shut up,” I yell out. “I swear, I’m not always like this.”
“Oh yeah, what about the guy who turned out to be your neighbor’s husband?”
“Stop! I had no clue that was him. I felt like shit for weeks, and you know that.”
“I know, but damn, girl. It’s like bad luck follows you around. Can I call you Pig-Pen from now on?”
“Ha. Ha. Ha,” I breathe out, not enjoying her making fun of me. “And besides, Pig-Pen never had the dark rain cloud you’re envisioning. He was the dirty kid, remember?”
“You know what I mean,” she deadpans. “I wish I could help you, but you got yourself into this mess. I told you to keep the club at the club. You’ll have to talk to him. Tell him if you want to continue to play with him or not. I wish I had better advice for you, but sometimes you just have to keep your big girl pantiesonand maybe not have sex with your teacher.” She giggles at her little pun.
“But do I have to, Mom?” I whine, and she laughs harder.
“Bye, Angie,” she sings.
“Wait, one more thing.”
“Yeah?”
“I’ve decided to go by my real name again.”
“Your real name?” she asks, confused.
“Yeah, Evangeline,” I say with pride.
Kamii doesn’t know anything about my past. I’ve worked at the law firm longer than her and was only assigned to her desk around two years ago. I watched as she came out of her shell. And even though my shell is a different kind, I’m ready to break through mine as well.
“That’s your real name? How did I not know this? And why the hell do you use your real name at the club?”
“It’s a long story, but yeah, it feels good being called it again. It’s been years. I walked away from who that girl was, and I feel like she’s finally coming back to me.”
“I’m glad to hear, Evangeline. It’s a beautiful name.”
“Thank you. Give that beautiful daughter of yours a kiss for me.”
* * *
The time is finally here, and I can’t put off walking in to my class anymore. I have to face Cole, and I hope it goes smoothly. Otherwise, I’m facing the longest class of my life.
I walk in after the lecture had already begun, and he pauses long enough to make me look up at him, seemingly unaffected by my presence.
The longer the class goes by, the easier it is to breathe, and my fear subsides. A few times I caught him looking at me, and I swear I saw the apology I hoped for written all over his face.
After class, I walked up to his desk, apologizing for being late. We played the student/teacher role, talking about what I missed last week when I didn’t come to class but when that last door closed, it was like a switch was flipped and he had me in his arms before I could think straight.
