Honor Student by Teresa Mummert

battery powered ones that my Aunt
had picked up at the mall. I lowered my body into the soothing
water and let my mind drift off into relaxation. The problem was my
thoughts immediately went to William. The smell of his skin, his
sexy eyes, that devilish smile, every part of him drew me in and
left me wanting more of him. I closed my eyes and let the music
take over. The sad slow melody of the piano filled the room and I
was able to let it all go.
    After the water began to cool, I reluctantly
pulled myself from the small tub feeling refreshed and less worried
about the situation. I made my way into my bedroom to change into
something more comfortable. I pulled on a pair of pajama shorts and
a tank top and decided a book would finish off the evening nicely.
I picked out an old romance novel that I had bought at the local
bookstore a few months back, but had never made time to read. As
the pages passed I felt my heart growing heavier. As much as I
tried to escape what I was feeling, the words in the book touched a
nerve inside of me. I spent the rest of the evening crying quietly
alone until I fell asleep, exhausted by my own sadness.
    The next morning I decided that as much as I
wanted to stay home and sulk I could not pass up the opportunity to
see him. He had taken over my thoughts and had become an addiction
that I needed to feed. I took extra care to make sure my hair was
perfectly straight and my makeup was just enough to show him what
he was missing. I drove to school in silence. I was so wrapped up
in having to actually look William in the eye I did not even
realize the radio was not on.
    My workout was actually quite bearable. Jeff
was not around today and I was thankful I did not have to talk
about our time at the club. He was a nice guy, but I wasn’t
attracted to him in the least.
    As the day went on, I realized that several
of my books were missing. It dawned on me that I had left them in
Mr. Honor’s car the entire weekend. My nerves were on edge as I sat
through lunch listening to Claire and Becka rave about their
weekend in the clubs. I picked at my food, never actually taking a
bite.
    “I still can’t believe Jeff wrecked his car.
He is lucky to be alive.” Becka said sadly.
    “That’s what he gets for drinking and
driving.” Claire chimed in. I rolled my eyes remembering how they
passed the liquor around the car that very night.
    As the bell rang, I sat frozen in my seat,
not sure if I could go to his class. I wanted more than anything to
see him but I was scared of his reaction. Sitting through an entire
period without him so much as glancing my way would devastate
me.
    “Come on, you’re going to be late.” Becka
said cheerfully as she looped her arm in mine and pulled me from
the seat. I dumped my lunch tray and made my way down the hall to
Mr. Honor’s class. I stood outside as everyone filed in. I glanced
through the doorway to see Mr. Honor leaning against the front of
his desk. His eyes met mine and for a moment, time froze. I held my
breath and stared at him. He wore a dark black button up shirt that
made his blue eyes glow. A male student walked up to him and got
his attention. I took a deep breath and slinked inside. I noticed a
small stack of books on my desk and could not help but smile. I sat
down and fidgeted with my pen, not wanting to look up at him. He
began to speak asking random questions about the chapter he had
assigned for us to read over the weekend. I let my mind wander as I
chewed on the end of my pencil.
    “Emma…Emma!” William called and I glanced up
to see the entire class staring at me.
    “What” I asked, sounding more irritated than
I intended.
    “Who exacted punishment
on the rebels of the North of England reffered to as ‘The Harrying
of the North’?” His eyes burned into mine and the entire class sat
silent, waiting for my response.
    “William the Conqueror.”
I blurted out, thinking of his text messages to me. He smiled at
our own private joke.
    “