Waylynn lets out a breath, then looks away from me. My goal was to ease her doubts, but she looks even more anxious now as she worries her thumbnail over her bottom lip. Is it the fact that she’s alone with me?
I pull her hand down and keep it held in mine. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“You didn’t, not like that,” she replies.
“Then tell me why you look like you’d rather be anywhere else but sitting next to me.” It sucks to admit the truth out loud, but there it is.
“There’s a lot going on. I have school to worry about, and I just moved here,” she says slowly. I can feel her pulling away, even though she’s in the same room with me. She’s making excuses. “We don’t even know each other very well.”
“Then let’s change that. What do you want to know?”
Waylynn peeks at me. “Um… What are your plans after school?” She hits me with a question you’d ask a stranger, but I’ll play along for now.
“I want to be a teacher, primary or middle school. Does that surprise you?” I ask when her eyes widen.
“A little, you’re pretty intense in the classroom.” She’s finally looking up at me again with those big hazel eyes I can’t get enough of.
“Teaching is important to me, but I think my attitude has to do with the student body. I don’t imagine a fourth grader is going to hand me her number when she turns in her assignment.” I toy with the ends of her hair because she lets me.
She cringes and wrinkles up her nose. “I was so embarrassed that first day when the girl asked about dating you.”
I can’t help but chuckle. “I’ll try not to take offense that it embarrassed you.”
“Not like that,” Waylynn offers quickly, even turning so her knees are closer to me. “I mean, it was so rude and just…I could never… It felt wrong, like she was objectifying you.” She nearly whispers the last part.
“She probably didn’t see it that way, and I know you wouldn’t do that.” I scoot a little closer, and she doesn’t back away.
“What made you want to be a teacher?” she asks. This feels like a real question, especially with the way she’s looking up at me like I’m the center of her universe, or maybe I just feel that way because she might be mine.
“I had a teacher who made a big impact on my life. Without him, things could have been very different for me, and I want to be that for someone else. I want to make sure no one falls through the cracks.”
The corner of Waylynn’s lips curls up in a small smile, and she looks down bashfully. “That’s the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard.”
“And I’ll get summers off.” I throw in the little tidbit, even though I know that won’t happen right away. I’ll be working to pay off the loans my scholarships and grants didn’t cover for a while.
“That is a nice perk,” she agrees, and the tension from a few minutes ago is absent.
Oz makes a lot of noise before exiting the bedroom. He’s probably been eavesdropping the entire time anyway, but at least we had the illusion of privacy. “Sorry about that, I had to let them know I would miss practice.”
Waylynn snaps her head to look in his direction. “Oh no, will you get in trouble?”
Oswald drops back into my desk chair. It creaks in protest, but he doesn’t notice. “No, it’s fine.” He dismisses her worry, but I know he’ll get some shit about it. “I need to lie low for the day since I told them I wasn’t feeling good though. Naturally, that means I’m starving. Do you have anything to eat?”
“Go look.” I wave him toward the kitchen. “It’s the same shit that was in there yesterday.”
“I wish the dining halls delivered,” Oswald complains while trudging to the kitchen.
“I can go get something,” Waylynn suggests.
“Nah, I’m good. There’s ramen.” He tosses two packages on the counter. His lack of excitement is clear by his tone and the slump of his shoulders.
“It’s not a problem. I’m a little hungry too,” she offers. I start to tell her no, that she doesn’t need to go get him food, but she’s watching me with her lip pressed between her teeth as if she’s expecting me to deny her.
“Are you sure?” Oz turns, already discounting the ramen he left on the counter.
“Absolutely, what would you like?” She tucks her dark hair behind her ear, allowing me to see the curve of her jaw, and I want to kiss her there and anywhere else she would permit.
“Anything other than microwave noodles.”
