Teaching River

Date

MYSTIQUE

"Mystique, might I have a word with you after class?" My heart almost stopped as these words escaped the mouth of my English teacher. I knew she didn't like me, but what could it be about now? I'd done all my homework, never spoke back, tried to be as quiet as a girl sitting next to the fly known as River could be and always had the highest grades in class.

River chuckled next to me and said, "What did you do now Foggy?"

"If it was anything, it would be your fault. You're always getting me into trouble Skyscraper. Cant you leave me alone sometimes?" I yelled softly.

He just rolled his eyes and said, "Whatever. You'd miss me if I was gone anyway."

He wished although I might miss him, but only a tiny bit.

The English lesson passed by too quickly for my liking, and suddenly, I found myself standing in front of my English teaching, awaiting the verdict.

"I need you to help River with his English. You two seem quite close and you are one of my top students, so I need you to help him. He has missed five of his assignments. So, I expect you to be on standby and ever ready to help. He works well and gets good grades, so I dont understand why he never hands his things in. I'm counting on you." She said.

I'm counting on you. There it was again. The words which sent shivers down my spine. The need to please was taking over me. All of River's teaching was amounting to zilch. Yes, zilch. Zero. Naught. Nothing.

I nodded and then exited her classroom to go and eat with Summer and Lacy.

"What did Miss Stick in the Mud want from you?" Lacy asked.

I ignored her question and glanced over scornfully at River who had his bubblegum bimbo girlfriend in his lap. In my mind, I was once again brutally murdering him. Not only did I have to help him with singing, but also English. River was becoming a real pest in my life.

"I need to help your stupid brother with English." I said.

Lacy began laughing and so did Summer.

"Hey Misty!" A familiar voice said from behind me. I turned to see Jay waving at me.

"Hey Jay!" I said.

"Mind if I sit with you guys?" He asked nearing our table. I looked towards Lacy and Summer. They didn't seem to mind and nodded excitedly.

"Your friends won't mind?" I asked shifting up for him. He shook his head no and sat right next to me.

"So how about a date this Saturday?" Jay asked. I gulped. Did he really just ask that so suddenly?

Ooh! A date! Summer chirped in as she popped a piece of candy into her mouth and winked.

My face grew a bright shade of red and my palms began to sweat. I quickly averted my eyes from Jay and began breathing in deeply as I told myself-

-Its only a date, Foggy.

River stood behind me, hovering over my seat and smiling as he nodded his head towards Jay and gave me a reassuring smile. By his impeccable timing and presence, I assumed that he knew about Jays question before I had even heard it myself.

I gulped and turned towards Jay who smiled at me reassuringly and uttered a small yes. Jay smiled and gently took my hand in his and placed a gentle kiss on it.

Ill pick you up on Friday at seven. And with that he stood up, nodded at River, and then began to walk away.

He came all this way to ask you out, Misty, you must be touched. Lacy said as she wiggled her eyebrows. It was then that a cucumber slice from my plate found its way onto her face. Lacy looked down at the piece of cucumber which was now on the floor and then her angered eyes made their way to the Skyscraper towering over me.

River, do you have a death wish? She hissed out.

River gulped, and then bolted, leaving a still very angry Lacy seething in her seat.

I wonder why he did that? Both Summer and Damien asked in unison.

I turned back and watched him, wondering the exact same thing. However, I decided to ignore the thought and returned to eating my lunch. All I could think about was the fact that Jay had asked me out on a date, but instead of feeling elated, I began to feel terrified. This time I was terrified not because my shyness, but for an entirely different reason altogether, and slowly a critical question arose in my head. Was I ready to date again, after everything he had put me through?