Acting On Love

After acting, I met up with Lisa for lunch. Somehow the boy named Jake had managed to follow me to the table that we sat at.

"Mind if I join you, Juliet?" he said, laughing at his own joke.

"Ok," I said uneasily, moving my bag from the chair next to me. He sat down with his tray.

Lisa had a plate full of salad, with a tiny portion of cold pasta, and a bottle of water. Me and Jake both had the same sandwiches, which I found a little bit odd.

"So how was acting?" Lisa asked.

Before I could answer, Jake had already dived in to answer for me. "She's going to be Juliet," he smiled. "And I'm Romeo."

Lisa laughed, before she realised he was being serious. "Oh, that's good." She shot me a look that signalled sympathy.

To contain myself from laughing, I excused myself - saying I wanted to buy an drink. I grabbed a carton of juice, laughing to myself as I queued up to pay. I didn't even want the juice, but it got me out of that situation. I looked back at Lisa and Jake, only to see Jake looking my way, frowning.

Oops. Had he seen me laughing..?

I smiled at him, and it worked - he smiled back with clear enthusiasm. I pulled out my money, only to find that I was 50 cents short. Juice was expensive here...

"Young lady, have you got the money?" the man behind the counter asked as I searched my purse, blushing. Why didn't I carry more money than this?

"One second, ok?" I said, recounting the money in my palm.

He sighed. "Ok, but you're holding up the queu..."

"How much do you need?"

I almost jumped the second I heard that voice. I looked behind me to see Ville queuing right behind, holding his wallet. I stared at him, for much longer than I should have.

"50 cents," I finally replied.

He passed me a 50 cent coin, and smiled.

"Thanks," I smiled, closing my palm which he'd placed it in.

"It's only 50 cents," he laughed, "but anyway...no problem." The next few seconds seemed to happen in slow motion. He smiled his prize-winning smile, and then he did something that nothing could have prepared me for.

He winked at me.

My heart exploded like fireworks in my chest. My legs felt like they disappeared underneath me. But worst of all, I couldn't take my eyes off of him - even when he looked at the man behind the counter and paid for his food.

"Kristen, are you ok?" he asked, grinning, with a slight hint of concern in his voice, as he picked up his tray and realised I was still looking at him.

"Fine," I answered. Suddenly, my legs found themselves again, and I was off like a bullet out of a gun. Once I sat back down in my place, I was kicking myself for acting like a total freak in front of him.

It was just a friendly wink. Nothing more, I told myself. Why did I even care? He was just a teacher...

"You ok?" Jake asked, when he noticed how I was staring off into nothingness, with a bizarre look upon my face.

I nodded and opened my juice. My stomach was still burning with nerves.

I couldn't help but cast a few glances across to the teacher's table. I had a clear view of him from where I sat. He laughed and talked with the other teachers, which I envied. It was only in the lunch hall that I realised how far away he was from me. He belonged with the other teachers - I belonged with the students. Even though he looked nothing like the rest of them - younger, and still passionate about his career; even if 2 years separated me from the other students, that small gulf felt more like a galaxy between us.

This small epiphany hurt more than the more obvious one - the one I'd overlooked so far. I had a crush on a teacher.