that,” I say with a sigh.
“Teenagers. You all think everything is way more complicated than it is. Just wait until you have pensions and 401Ks and income taxes and student loan payments. That’s when things will actually be complicated. Right now, it’s all so much easier than you think.”
If only. But that’s one thing I won’t discuss with Mr. Dalton. So I settle for halfway appeasing him and say, “I’ll think about it.”
That seems to be enough for now. He settles back into helping me, and the rest of the hour passes quickly. When the bell rings, most of the bored students fly out of the room like a pack of wild dogs that just spotted their next meal. My next class is only two doors down, so I make no effort to rush as I pack up my books. At least, I tell myself that’s the reason. Ivy seems to be taking her time as well.
“Hey,” Mr. Dalton says to me, “come back any time you need a hand. I’m happy to help. And I think someone else might be, too.” He follows his comment up with a grin and makes for his cramped office. He’s not the most subtle guy in the world.
“So, did you get everything worked out?” Ivy asks.
The hunger that has been gnawing at me since she walked in flares. I have to take a deep breath and clench my jaw several times before I can face her. I remind myself that I made the choice to come here. If I can’t control myself around Ivy, sneaking into her room at night will be the only relationship I’ll ever have with her. Play nice, pretend I’m normal. When I do turn, I’m careful to keep my distance. “Yeah, mostly,” I say.
“That’s good.”
I feel stupid standing there staring at her, but I’m not sure what will happen if I move. I might try to kiss her. I might do something worse. Just to be safe, I opt for not moving at all. She doesn’t move either. In fact, she seems happy to wait for me to say or do something. The silence is starting to weigh on me. I say the first thing that comes into my head.
“Did your dad really teach you math at night?”
Ivy blushes, a look I’m starting to find extremely attractive on her. “Well, it was more like any time we were together. It’s hard to get him to talk about anything but math, actually.”
“You don’t mind?”
“No,” she says, shrugging away her embarrassment. “I think it’s fun figuring out the answers to problems. It’s like a game.”
Talking to her occupies my mind enough for it to distract me from my hunger and let me move away from her to a safer distance. I head toward the door, and Ivy follows. When we get out to the hallway, I stop again, relieved to be amid dozens of rushing students. The more people there are around, the harder it is for my hunger to focus on one person. I’m sure there are at least a few others in the crowd that my hunger wants, but right now, Ivy overpowers anyone else.
“Math is like a game,” I repeat. “Not exactly the way I would put it, but okay.”
Ivy starts to take a step closer to me. She seems to think better of it, and steps back instead. “How would you put it?”
“Bamboo shoots? Hot pokers?”
Ivy laughs. It’s a full, beautiful sound. No one would ever accuse me of being a funny guy, but I suddenly wish I were. I want to hear Ivy laugh again. If it were the only sound I could ever hear, I would be perfectly happy.
“That’s awfully dramatic. Why not throw in some water boarding as well,” Ivy says, a smile still playing on her lips.
“Okay, maybe math isn’t that bad, but it doesn’t come naturally to me.”
Ivy’s head drops down self-consciously. “Well, I’m happy to help if you need it.”
“Really?”
I can’t help asking. After the way I’ve treated her, I honestly don’t understand why she doesn’t run every time she sees me. Could Van possibly be right? Is there some ulterior motive to her interest in me? Maybe if I take Mr. Dalton’s advice, I’ll find out.
“Sure,” Ivy answers.
She watches me like she
“Teenagers. You all think everything is way more complicated than it is. Just wait until you have pensions and 401Ks and income taxes and student loan payments. That’s when things will actually be complicated. Right now, it’s all so much easier than you think.”
If only. But that’s one thing I won’t discuss with Mr. Dalton. So I settle for halfway appeasing him and say, “I’ll think about it.”
That seems to be enough for now. He settles back into helping me, and the rest of the hour passes quickly. When the bell rings, most of the bored students fly out of the room like a pack of wild dogs that just spotted their next meal. My next class is only two doors down, so I make no effort to rush as I pack up my books. At least, I tell myself that’s the reason. Ivy seems to be taking her time as well.
“Hey,” Mr. Dalton says to me, “come back any time you need a hand. I’m happy to help. And I think someone else might be, too.” He follows his comment up with a grin and makes for his cramped office. He’s not the most subtle guy in the world.
“So, did you get everything worked out?” Ivy asks.
The hunger that has been gnawing at me since she walked in flares. I have to take a deep breath and clench my jaw several times before I can face her. I remind myself that I made the choice to come here. If I can’t control myself around Ivy, sneaking into her room at night will be the only relationship I’ll ever have with her. Play nice, pretend I’m normal. When I do turn, I’m careful to keep my distance. “Yeah, mostly,” I say.
“That’s good.”
I feel stupid standing there staring at her, but I’m not sure what will happen if I move. I might try to kiss her. I might do something worse. Just to be safe, I opt for not moving at all. She doesn’t move either. In fact, she seems happy to wait for me to say or do something. The silence is starting to weigh on me. I say the first thing that comes into my head.
“Did your dad really teach you math at night?”
Ivy blushes, a look I’m starting to find extremely attractive on her. “Well, it was more like any time we were together. It’s hard to get him to talk about anything but math, actually.”
“You don’t mind?”
“No,” she says, shrugging away her embarrassment. “I think it’s fun figuring out the answers to problems. It’s like a game.”
Talking to her occupies my mind enough for it to distract me from my hunger and let me move away from her to a safer distance. I head toward the door, and Ivy follows. When we get out to the hallway, I stop again, relieved to be amid dozens of rushing students. The more people there are around, the harder it is for my hunger to focus on one person. I’m sure there are at least a few others in the crowd that my hunger wants, but right now, Ivy overpowers anyone else.
“Math is like a game,” I repeat. “Not exactly the way I would put it, but okay.”
Ivy starts to take a step closer to me. She seems to think better of it, and steps back instead. “How would you put it?”
“Bamboo shoots? Hot pokers?”
Ivy laughs. It’s a full, beautiful sound. No one would ever accuse me of being a funny guy, but I suddenly wish I were. I want to hear Ivy laugh again. If it were the only sound I could ever hear, I would be perfectly happy.
“That’s awfully dramatic. Why not throw in some water boarding as well,” Ivy says, a smile still playing on her lips.
“Okay, maybe math isn’t that bad, but it doesn’t come naturally to me.”
Ivy’s head drops down self-consciously. “Well, I’m happy to help if you need it.”
“Really?”
I can’t help asking. After the way I’ve treated her, I honestly don’t understand why she doesn’t run every time she sees me. Could Van possibly be right? Is there some ulterior motive to her interest in me? Maybe if I take Mr. Dalton’s advice, I’ll find out.
“Sure,” Ivy answers.
She watches me like she
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