Surprise?
779 Words
I walked in the door and handed my schedule to the Math teacher, Mr. Parrison. Theo walked to his desk and sat his belongings on the ground as I waited for the teacher to make adjustments.
"Ms. Voda, welcome, are by any chance related to the new...." he looked at me and shook his head. "Nevermind, I see you've met Mr. Forrester already, take the empty seat behind him. Here is your book, a set of class rules and if you have any questions don't hesitate, I'm here to help."
"Thank you, sir." I replied quietly "But I'm not sure who you are-"
"Persie! over here!" waved Theo enthusiastically. I looked to the teacher who nodded and walked over to the desk behind Theo and sat down. Theo turned around and smiled "I don't care what you say Ms. Mermaid, this is fate!"
Now that was the second time he called me that. I had to know why.
"Theo why do you keep calling me that?" I asked him, anxiety boiled in my stomach.
"Cuz you're from Florida, so beach....and you're very pretty, like a mermaid." he stopped his cheeks turning pink, "I'm sorry I don't know where that came from, apparently my filter has decided to not work."
I laughed feeling the heat in my cheeks "Well I appreciate the compliment, completely unnecessary though." I winked at him to break the embarrassment. He smiled at me, relief flooding his eyes. Tension between us began to escalate and we held eye contact.
"Okay class, time to start..." began Mr. Parrison getting our attention breaking the spell.
Theo turned around quickly. I could tell he was nervous, as he kept rubbing the back of his neck. His hair looked so soft I had the strangest urge to reach out and tou-
"Ms. Voda! Since you find my lesson so boring, you can come up here and solve this equation." Mr. Parrison said sternly, startling me into the present.
Theo looked over his shoulders and I could see he was trying not to laugh. I stood from my desk and started my way up to the white board. When I passed Theo I kicked his foot as revenge for enjoying me getting called out.
I got up to the board and looked at the equation. I quickly took a marker in my hand and solved it. I turned to Mr. Parrison and let him examine my work.
"Well... I stand corrected, maybe you were paying attention, very good Ms. Voda." he smiled at me and I nodded going back to my seat. As I was making my way back I made eye contact with Theo who looked genuinely impressed that I survived the ordeal. As I walked past him I lightly grazed his shoulder with my fingertips. He gasped softly, which made the bold move worth it. I sat down silently feeling proud of myself but at the same time wondered what had possessed me to touch him.
The bell rung and Theo turned to me his eyes staring into mine intensely. I froze, regretting my boldness earlier. Maybe I made him uncomfortable....I didn't even think about that. I opened my mouth to apologize when he beat me to words.
"Let me take you out Friday." he said, sure of himself. His confidence gave me butterflies in my stomach.
"Excuse me?" I responded automatically, shocked at his statement.
"Let me take you out Friday. On a date. We could do dinner. Or a movie. But I'd prefer something where I can get to know you more." he said not breaking eye contact with me.
"Um I.." I started, utterly confused. I was never asked out. My sister always went on dates... I was just me. Someone like Theo never wanted someone like me.
He looked at me, I could see his confidence shaking at my lack of answer. Something inside of me hurt at the thought of his feelings being bruised. " Are you sure?"
I asked him this because the only time this had happened before, when I said yes it turned out to be a cruel joke.
He looked surprised at my question and nodded his head. "Well then I suppose my answer is yes."
He stood quickly and held his hand out to me. "My Lady."
Oh stop all that, I playfully swatted his hand away. He grinned broadly and we went to our next class. I let him do most of the talking, as he was filling me in on our next teacher. I couldn't help but feel worried that this time would be like the last time. Trauma runs deep when you feel deep I suppose.
- Writer
