Lessons in Love (11 page)

Mr. Simmons can be so mean, but he gets away with it as he’s totally hot!

Alex replied without even needing to look at the keypad, her fingers instinctively knowing how to type. Her phone was an older model than most. Claire had given it to her when she got an upgrade, tired of hearing Alex’s excuse about how her cell phone was broken and being repaired. Alex kept it hidden from her mother, fearing that she would only think her daughter had stolen it if she found it.

Alex finished her reply and hit send just as the bell rang and class finally concluded. Claire’s eyes widened with surprise as she read the message.

I don’t think he’s all that.

Almost a week had passed since Alex had gone from being the girl in Mark’s car to the invisible woman. She was tired of second-guessing his feelings about her and more tired
of her own constant attraction towards him. She was obviously deluding herself to entertain any sort of fantasy involving him, yet she couldn’t help it. Each time she caught his scent or spotted him in the corridor, her heart raced in a way that no one else had ever been able to make it do.

The only way she could get through math class was to actually settle down and do some work, and as a result her grades began to improve.

“You got an A?” Claire gasped as they sat in their Friday morning class.

“Mmm.” Alex nodded sheepishly.

“How did you manage that?” Claire asked, clearly amazed by the achievement.

Alex wanted to answer that all she had done was pay attention and apply herself, but knew that wouldn’t be in keeping with her head cheerleader status. “I bought the answers off some guy yesterday,” Alex whispered conspiratorially.

“Ooh,” Claire exhaled, nodding in approval. “Why didn’t you share?” She sounded hurt as she asked.

“I didn’t want us both to get caught cheating.” Alex offered an impromptu explanation, which seemed to appease Claire.

“Hope you don’t get caught,” she whispered across to her friend.

“Me too.” Alex smiled at her.

Mark was winding down his class, having distributed test papers and solved all of the equations on the board. As usual his gaze had never once drifted to the back right of the classroom where Alex sat. Suddenly she felt his eyes upon her before she heard him speak, her breath catching in her throat as he did so.

“Miss Heron, can I see you after class?” His tone was abrupt. It was not a request but a command.

“Oh God, looks like he caught you cheating!” Claire sent Alex an apologetic glance before hurriedly packing away her stuff, not wanting to be tarred with the same cheating brush.

Alex watched Claire and the rest of her classmates scurry away, her heart already in overdrive, pounding within her chest, reverberating all the way to her eardrums, blocking out all external sound.

What did Mark want with her? He’d ignored her all week long; why speak to her now? Alex nervously approached his desk. Mark went to speak but then spotted the open door, beyond which were students milling around in the corridor, unenthusiastically meandering towards their next class.

He got up and walked purposefully to the door, swiftly closed it, and then headed back to his desk. He sat on top of it, close to Alex as she hovered nervously nearby. She could smell him, and it was intoxicating. She struggled to keep her focus.

“I owe you an apology,” Mark blurted out, his stern demeanor instantly gone and the kind, open man from the cinema standing in his place.

“Huh?” Alex was caught off guard.

“I’ve been ignoring you all week. But you know that, right?” Mark looked deep into her eyes, and embarrassed, Alex looked away.

“I thought you were just being a tool,” she told him flippantly, forcing herself to wear her arrogant cheerleader armor.

Mark merely smiled fondly at her insult. “You’ve every right to be mad. I just can’t be seen to be too familiar with you in school. People will talk.”

Alex was silent, staring intently at her battered Converse sneakers; thankfully the distressed look was currently in style.

“Alex, I’d risk losing my job if anyone knew we were…friends.” He struggled on the last word, and Alex wondered why.

“What’s wrong with being friends?” Alex challenged.

“You know what,” Mark told her earnestly, and she felt her heart skip a beat as she dared to believe that perhaps he did actually see her as something more than just a friend. But if that was the word they needed to use to toe the delicate teacher-student line, then she was more than happy to do so.

“Are we still friends?” she asked cautiously.

“Of course.” Mark smiled warmly. “In fact, that was why I asked you to wait after class.” He glanced nervously at the classroom door, beyond the speckled glass in the top half there was the unmistakeable form of a waiting student. His next class would soon commence.

“Do you like skating?” he asked quickly, aware that he was running out of time before the bell would toll once more.

“Skating?” Alex reiterated. She’d never been skating before. “Sure.” She shrugged casually.

“You want to go? There’s a rink in Charlottesville that’s really great. I’ll pick you up at 7?” The bell rang; it was time for the second class of the day to start. Mark spoke with urgency, desperate to have an answer before the next wave of students flooded into the room.

“Sure.” Alex didn’t know what else to say.

“Great.” Mark beamed as a load of juniors came pouring through the door, and Alex dashed off to her own next class.

****

“Again with the pacing!” Jackie frowned as Alex walked nervously along the length of the trailer. Wearing skinny jeans and a white sweater, she began to wonder if she was dressed appropriately to go skating. She couldn’t ask her mother for advice. It would only invite her to pry further into her plans for that evening.

“Are you seeing a boy?” Jackie asked directly.

“What, no!” Alex’s eyes widened with fear.

“Then why are you getting so wound up about seeing Claire? You see her all the time.” Jackie continued her scrutiny of her daughter’s behavior.

“I just feel a bit under the weather,” Alex lied lamely.

“Then stay in,” Jackie instantly suggested.

“I’m eighteen, and it’s a Saturday night,” Alex replied tersely. “I’m going out!”

“I just hope Andy will be okay on his own.” Jackie applied another layer of guilt to Alex’s situation.

Beyond the window Alex spotted the headlights of Mark’s car.

“In all honesty, if Andy managed to burn the trailer down while here alone, he’d be doing us all a favor!” Alex declared boldly before heading out the door and into the twilight of the evening.

****

Mark’s car felt familiar but exotic all at the same time. She’d sat in the very passenger seat only a week before and felt the same surge of adrenalin flood her veins and make her light-headed.

“You ever been skating before?” he asked as they drove out of Woodsdale and on to the freeway.

“Honestly, no,” Alex admitted, glad that he wouldn’t see her blushing since he was driving.

“I thought as much.” Mark smiled.

“You did?” Alex was surprised by his admission.

“Yeah, well, Woodsdale isn’t an ice skating kind of town. You guys don’t even have an ice hockey team.”

“You like ice hockey?” Alex queried.

“Nope.” Mark shook his head. “I love it!” he declared, grinning. “I grew up in Canada,” he added by way of explanation.

“I used to live near Vancouver.”

“You don’t sound Canadian,” Alex noted.

“My accent has been watered down a bit over the years since I left home,” Mark explained. “I should go back more, really,” he added guiltily.

“Do you miss it? Home?” Alex asked gently.

“Yes and no,” Mark answered ambiguously.

Alex felt awkward about asking him further questions and so began to fiddle with his car stereo.

“Would you miss Woodsdale if you left?” Mark asked Alex as the sound of The Smiths asking to get what they want filled the small space around them.

Alex thought of her small hometown, which seemed to contain more bad memories than good ones. It was her ultimate goal to put as much distance between herself and the 7-Eleven where her father died as possible.

“No, I wouldn’t miss it,” she answered boldly.

“I don’t think people miss their hometowns when all that’s left there are bad memories and mistakes,” Mark mused aloud. “I guess you wouldn’t leave in the first place if you had it good?”

Alex wondered what bad memories Mark had left back in Canada. She considered that maybe there was a girl there who had broken his heart so badly that he had to leave the country, but that notion made her blood boil uncomfortably. She shouldn’t care so much about Mark and his mysterious past, but she did.

“If you plan to leave Woodsdale, the best way to do it is through college,” Mark told Alex wisely.

“I can’t afford college.” Alex immediately scoffed, waving a dismissive hand.

“No, but you’re smart enough for a scholarship. You should really think about it, Alex. It would change your life, and you deserve to have the same kind of opportunities you’d have had if your dad was still around.”

At the mention of her father, Alex felt sick, like she’d been punched in the stomach. She turned away from Mark and rolled her car window down a little, grateful for the fresh air that came filtering in.

Mark turned off the freeway, following the signs for Charlottesville. It was a town Alex had been familiar with when she was much younger. It was more affluent than Woodsdale and a great deal more cultured, containing theatres and hosting various music concerts and festivals. When she was younger, her father had taken her there to see a famous orchestra play. It had been a truly amazing night and was one of the memories of her past that she cherished dearly. Sometimes, when life seemed too unbearable, she’d try to remember the music of that night, how it had carried up to her seat as if on magical wings and taken her away to another world.

“We’re here.” Mark entered the large parking lot for the skating rink. It was already pretty busy since it was a Saturday night.

Mark got out of the car but paused when he noticed Alex hadn’t moved. He leaned back in and shot her a concerned glance.

“Alex, are you okay?”

“It’s been a long time since I tried anything new,” she admitted sadly, looking down at her hands, which were now folded in her lap.

“I always used to do this kind of thing with my dad. He made me feel…safe.” Alex feared that she sounded pathetic but couldn’t shake the sensation that she was suddenly just a stupid kid who didn’t know anything and didn’t belong anywhere. Her father had been that stable figure who would coax her out of her comfort zone, assuring her that she was Alexandra Heron and she could do anything she wanted. It was ironic that as a cheerleader, what she really needed was someone to cheer her on, to be on her side, win or lose.

“I’m here.” Mark came around and opened her car door, extending his hand out to her. “I’ll keep you safe,” he added sincerely.

Alex took his hand and allowed herself to be guided out of the car. Mark wrapped a protective arm around her, and she instinctively leaned into it.