He walks in not three minutes late. I can't keep my head from jerking up and towards the door each time I hear someone arrive, and when he walks through the door, I make eye contact immediately.
For a half-second, it looks like he stalls in the doorway, taking me in, as if he’s surprised to see that I'm there at all.
My breath catches in my throat and for a moment, I think the wind has been knocked out of me. But the moment he drops his gaze and walks over to his desk to throw down his bag, I exhale, looking down at the table top underneath me and wringing my hands in my lap.
The lecture drones on.
I don't have any interest in listening to Harlan, and to be honest, am only there for my attendance grade and to spite him. I spend the classroom gazing out the window, my head in my hand, p
