The Class Agreement

14

A few weeks passed by.

And in those few weeks, school kicked up. I took tests for most of my classes. Homework started to pile up and so did classwork. More grades started going into the grade books. I was pretty proud of myself for the most part because I was maintaining a B average or higher in my classes.

There were some days that I would spend my entire day studying and doing homework, which is a little unusual for me. I don't think I've ever had a semester where we were given this much homework, especially senior year. Senior year is supposed to be the easiest year. I guess not anymore.

Tommy and I continued to work out together and I started seeing his body change. He's doing a pretty good job keeping up with me, but sometimes he gets a little lazy. He's also gained a little weight and it looks good on him. I've been trying to maintain my weight and muscle — trying not to get too big.

Willow and I had a few run-ins and even some times we would sit in my car by the harbor and talk. I think she's kinda lonely now. I try my best and keep her company while maintaining my distance. I'm not really interested in trying to re-spark the spark with her.

Lately, I've been feeling pretty good. No one has been messing with me or bothering me. Nothing from my past has come up again, for now. Tommy hasn't been back to the Circle since I warned him. At first, I was a little scared that he would go back anyway.

I've been spending a lot of time in Athena's classroom. I try to space out some days and leave her alone because I feel like I'm there too often. Even though she says she enjoys my company and that it's okay, I know she has things to get done too. The tension that I usually feel between us hasn't gone away either.

I thought after time it would eventually fade away, but it definitely hasn't. Now I just ignore it and try my best not to step over any boundaries. Lately, I've been feeling more physically attracted to her which makes me feel wrong. I know it's a part of human nature — being physically attracted to someone isn't bad, but I just feel like I shouldn't be lusting over my government teacher.

I know she catches me staring at her the wrong way in class and whenever we're alone sometimes. I try my best to keep my eyes centered and focused, but sometimes I get into my thoughts and drift off. It's all innocent, but I don't want her to feel uncomfortable.

Some days we would just sit in silence during lunch while I ate and she typed away on her laptop. It just comforted me sitting there with her and being in her presence. At this point, I want to say she feels the same. Sometimes she also helps me with my homework and studying. She even trusts me enough to help her out with grading little things for her other classes.

"We can ... trade questions. This way you can stop saying I'm impossible to get through — which by the way, I'm not," I said.

She laughed, "You want to trade questions?"

"You always say I ask you questions, but I never answer yours. I think a question for a question is fair. Think of it as our own ... uh ... class agreement."

She hummed in approval, "Our own little class agreement ... fine. If it gets you to stop saying that I'm too curious — I'll play along."

I did the honors by going first, "What made you want to be a teacher?"

"I was inspired by my past professors," She shrugged. "I like the idea of passing knowledge on. You can always learn something new."

"That's cool. At least you're passionate about it."