“Thank you. I try. A lot of people think English Lit is boring as hell.”
“You think?” I smirked.
“Quiet.” She smiled. “What’s the one thing teenagers live for besides their phones and social media?”
“Enlighten me. I can’t say I really know anything about teenagers.”
“You were a teenager once,” she said.
“In a boarding school where the rules were so strict, we’d felt like our teenage years were stolen from us.”
“That’s sad. Anyway, they live for gossip. So that’s how I teach. I can have their full attention for an hour, as long as they think we’re gossiping. My whole goal as a teacher is to make my students fall in love with every story before the end of the school year.”
“Have you ever failed?”
“Not yet.” She grinned.
“I do have one question, though.”
“What is your question, Mr. Castile?”
“Why do you allow your students to call you Sam and not Miss Hollis?”
“Because when I was a teenager, I hated authority figures.”
“What?” I chuckled.
“Mr., Mrs., Miss. It’s stale and too formal. I want my student to connect with me like a friend. They trust me more if I’m on their level.”
“I guess that makes sense.”
Linda walked over to our table and set our plates in front of us.
“Two patty melts with fries. Enjoy, you two. Make sure to grab plenty of napkins. I wouldn’t want you to get grease on your fine clothes, Weston.”
“Thanks for the suggestion, Linda.” I was irritated.
I reached over to the napkin holder and pulled out a couple of napkins. They were thin, flimsy, and in no way going to stop all the grease.
“They’re napkins, Wes. Why are you staring at them like that?”
“Because they’re way too thin for a place like this.”
“Ah, you’re used to high-end cloth napkins. I get it. It can be a little maddening sometimes.”
She was making fun of me.
“All I’m saying is this patty melt looks greasy, and these thin napkins aren’t going to hold up.”
“That’s why they keep the napkin holder on the table, so you can take as many as you need.” She smiled.
I reluctantly picked up one half of my patty melt and examined it.
“Just eat it.” Sam rolled her eyes.
“I’m assessing it first since I’d never had one.”
“It’s a sandwich, Wes.”
