Tallulah I wasn’t a good liar. I didn’t like to lie. This felt like a lie. Mr. Dace saving me from getting my first tardy ever. I was late. Just like the others in the office waiting to get a tardy slip. But I had gone with him. The other option would have been to call my teacher a liar in front of everyone and refuse. It had caught me by surprise, and thinking fast wasn’t my strong suit. I needed time to weigh my options and make a decision. Asa found me after third period. He was all flirty smiles and confidence. “Last night didn’t end the way I wanted it to,” he said, grinning at me. I wasn’t sure it had ended the way I wanted it to either. I was very conflicted about that. I liked Mr. Dace. He was nice, smart, and handsome, and that last one was the issue. He was handsome. Distractingly so. It wasn’t a good idea for me to develop a crush on my teacher. And I was afraid that was a possibility. “It was definitely an interesting end to the evening,” I r eplied, not knowing what else to say. “Coach D is young and doesn’t know how we do things around here.” “He was doing his job.” I defended him before I had time to think about it. Asa shrugged. “I guess. You going to the game Friday night?” He changed the subject that easily.
The truth was I had never been to a football game. I knew I should go. This was my senior year. I wanted to experience high school. All that I had missed out on by being a recluse. I wanted no regrets when I looked back. “Yes,” I told him. Although I wasn’t sure with who. “After the game, meet me on the field. We’ll go to the field party together. There should be no interruptions on a Friday night,” he said with a roll of his eyes as if Mr. Dace was ridiculous. “Um, I don’t know—” I was cut off from having to turn down his offer. “Not tardy, huh?” Nash’s voice came from behind me. I paused, and the guilt of my morning lie was back. Only Nash would know the truth. I had been with him when the late bell rang. Taking a de ep breath, I turned to meet his gaze. “That wasn’t my idea. He surprised me. I didn’t... I didn’t know what to say.” Nash smirked. “You say nothing. Be glad you didn’t have to wait in that line.” He’d waited in line. I didn’t want to care about that. I wanted to be tough and jaded where he was concerned. But it wasn’t fair that I didn’t have to get marked as tardy. I should have said something to Mr. Dace. “I should have, though. It’s not honest,” I admitted. “What’s not honest?” Asa asked, reminding me he was there. Nash glanced over my shoulder toward Asa. “Nothing. I’m just giving Miss Goody-Goody here a hard time.” He wasn’t telling Asa about it. Not that I’d done something terribly wrong. I was making more out of this than there really was.
“Were you late?” Asa asked me. I opened my mouth to speak, but Nash beat me to it. “No. She got in before the bell. I’m slow. I didn’t make it.” Hearing him lie for me made this worse. “It was a hectic morning,” I explained. “Burning stoves can stress one out,” Nash agreed. “Whose stove was burning?” Asa asked. I glanced back at Asa. “My mother forgot about a cake in the oven. It caught on fire.” Asa’s eyebrows shot up. “Damn.” “I’ve got to get to English Lit,” I told both of them. I didn’t want to be late to Mr. Dace’s class. Or any class ever again. “Better get to that one. The teacher will be looking for you,” Nash drawled. His tone made me feel uncomfortable. Like I needed to defend myself. My cheeks felt warm, and that just made me angry. “Bye,” I muttered at both of them without looking in either direction, then hurried away into the crowded hallway. Was it obvious that I had a bit of a crush on Mr. Dace? Is that what Nash was saying? I hadn’t said or done anything to warrant that. He was attractive and young. I would guess most of the girls had a crush on him. It wasn’t like I was going to start writing him love letters and leaving them on his desk. I reached his classroom door five minutes before the bell. I hadn’t even been close to being late. There was no one inside yet. No one but Mr. Dace. Now I looked stalkerish. Frowning, I blamed this on Nash. He’d made me concerned
about something stupid. I was always early for my classes. I didn’t socialize in the hallways. My being at Literature early was normal for me. Expected. “Tallulah,” Mr. Dace said, smiling as I walked into his room and his eyes met mine. He appeared pleased I was on time. Not cre eped out. I was going to ignore Nash’s comment and relax. I liked this class. Mr. Dace was a good teacher. At least based on the one class I had with him yesterday, he was good. “How has your morning been?” he asked, putting down the book in his hands and giving me his complete attention. “Good, and yours?” The corner of his mouth lifted. “It’s getting better.” The way he said it made me pause. It was almost... No. I was being silly. Mr. Dace did not mean it the way I took it. “Oh, well, that’s good,” I r eplied, realizing I had just said good in my last response. I was nervous with him. I couldn’t relax. “Hello, Mr. Dace,” Bianca Valley said as she entered the room. Her shirt tight and her cleavage about to spill out of the top. She tossed her long black hair over her shoulder and batted her lashes at him. That was what I did not want to appear like to him. “Good morning,” he r eplied with a smile that wasn’t at all flirty. He then turned his gaze back to me. Most males didn’t look away from Bianca’s shirts. Her chest size was impressive. I had to give it to him. He was a classy guy. “I’ve got a book I think you’ll enjoy. It’s not your norm, but I found it last night on my shelf, and I believe it’s one
that will ke ep your interest.” “Oh, okay,” I r eplied, trying not to look shocked that he had thought about me enough to pick me out a book. “I’ve been wondering,” Bianca said as she perched herself on the edge of his desk. “How old are you exactly? You don’t look much older than me.” She leaned toward him, and I dropped my gaze to my notebook on my desk. “That’s not relevant to this class.” His chair moved, and I lifted my eyes to see him stand up and put distance between them. “Sitting on my desk is also considered inappropriate. There are plenty of desks available in the room.” He turned his back to her then and started pr eparing for the others to arrive. I watched him a moment, surprised by how he had dealt with Bianca. Most male teachers forgot that anyone else was in the room when she chose to flirt with them. Mr. Dace was different.