Teach Me (Fighting #2)

Chapter 2

                  

~Now~

Ava

"Ava, why are you fidgeting so much?" Brooklyn, my roommate, asks me. She looks at me with her eyebrows furrowed with worry and her eyes narrowed. Even though we met a year ago, I am still taken by her eyes.

One is amber and the other blue.

"I'm nervous, Brook. Give me a break." I say, looking away and readjusting my purse, placing it higher on my shoulder. I decide to take a look at the sky, simply because the beauty of it calms me.

It's a gorgeous morning. Campus is bursting with students, not a spot is empty.

Today I start my second year.

And class with Daniel, which I had successfully avoided for an entire year.

"I'm a little nervous too. Taking class with that man will be difficult. I'm still wondering why his name wasn't on the curriculum. I mean, all the other professors' names are on it." Brooklyn says, talking about Daniel.

She doesn't know that we know each other. There isn't one good reason why I should tell her. It would just make things weird.

Still, she knows him. We have all seen him around, having lunch, driving in and out of campus.

He's also has made quite the impression.

He is the professor every girl on campus fantasizes about, but those who have taken class with him don't say very nice things. In fact, he is one of the most dreaded teachers here. Most say they love his lectures, but that he is way too strict and demanding.

"You? Nervous? I never thought taking History of Theater on Stage would make you squirm." I tease as we reach the doors of the theater, where we will take his class. She slaps my shoulder and laughs, her shoulders making her long, wavy, gray hair shake.

"Oh, shut up. I just don't think I will be able to focus with that man in front of me. They say he has an accent. Where do you think he's from?" She asks, opening one of the huge doors for the both of us. I shrug as the chill of the air conditioning caresses my bare arms and legs.

Why did I choose to wear a dress today?

"I don't know, Brook. England?" I say, mildly annoyed and looking between the rows. We choose a spot in the middle and close to the stage, where everyone seems to have gathered.

"No, it he were British, everyone would know where the accent was from, right?" I roll my eyes at her, earning a laugh from her as we walk awkwardly through the seats. It's too early for this shit.

Once we are sitting and settled, I take out my phone and check for any messages. I see Kelly, my best friend, sent me a picture of her beautiful two-year-old daughter, Amaia. She's enjoying pancakes with a caption that says 'Good luck today'. I smile.

My body tenses and a surge of awareness makes my smile fade. I put my cellphone away and feel Brooklyn's hand on my thigh.

I look up at her.

"He's here." She whispers. I look over at the stage and effectively, Daniel is placing his leather bag on a chair beside him. No matter how much I try, my body and mind have ways of reacting to him, of being completely aware of him.

And this has always been bad, but ever since my dad's wedding, it's just torture. It's been hard to even get him to look at me after that.

No matter how much I push the memory of that night away, I can't. And he won't talk to me, he won't explain.