Temptation Not Included

“I’m sorry, but what?”

Just fifteen minutes before, Meru lay asleep peacefully in her first period Creative Writing class. She couldn’t quite amount to any sleep the previous night, for reasons she would never admit to Aeron. She spent most of the late hours reminiscing about her past relationships with the help of the sentimental trinkets she kept after the breakups. With the Homecoming festivities approaching later in the day, her and the rest of the Student Council would be flittering about school grounds in preparation. Dunst was the only teacher of hers that didn’t sign off on Meru’s leave of absence for the day. So, she took advantage of the only time she had to herself for the next three days.

Sleep.

Although she found it useless to sleep when Creative Writing was the only class she was required to take, she didn’t argue with the fact. She had no intentions of attending the actual event she was helping prep for, and because of that, she knew she would need to actually amount to being the student body vice president and take charge alongside Kyler. She had done it all before with school events and the one thing she never seemed to have enough of was stamina. Strength, charisma-- anything that would boost her in dealing with the incompetence and falling outs of the preparations.

So when Lennox sent an excuse pass to Dunst just ten minutes before the end of first period, Meru was bittersweet. Bitter that she had been rudely awakened before her allotted time expired, and slightly joyous that she had been excused by none other than her favorite teacher.

Now, just because Lennox is her current favorite teacher doesn’t mean she actually favors what he teaches. For the past eight minutes, she knew she could not blame her grogginess for not comprehending just what he was proposing to her.

“How does Monday sound to you?”

Although Meru was still beyond very confused, her inner tick to argue flared. “What? No, definitely not. We don’t have school Monday, it’s a day off.”

“Exactly. We can test run just where you need your improvements. We won’t be spending all day or night together once we get into routine, Meru.” he explained once he looked up from sorting through the stacks of paper on his desk. He glanced around momentarily to take notice of his third period students taking their Friday test, indistinctly bothered by his and Meru’s hushed conversation from across the room. “So, Monday it is?”

Confusion hazed deep within Meru’s eyes, making them seem darker than usual. Puffing out her lips, she scratched the top of her head and shrugged. “Do I really need this that bad?”

“If you plan on getting into Colombia with that scholarship of yours, yes. How your grades are progressing right now, you’ll be extremely lucky if you end up in New York period.”

“Geez, what kind of encourager are you?” she mumbled while fumbling with the straps to her bag.

Meru looked away from fidgeting and into Lennox’s eyes to notice he was no longer taking the situation lightly. He really had true intentions of helping her. How could she say no? “The kind that likes to see success.” he answered, slouching slightly to hunch over the edge of his desk to clasp his hands together. “Monday, Meru.”

He was no longer asking questions, which meant Meru only had one choice. “Fine, yes.” she reluctantly agreed through a sigh.

“Great. Be here by ten in the morning.”

She reached across the desk and dragged a creased piece of a paper with her forefinger until it rested right in front of her. Once she had it in her palm, she launched her confusion at him and he still sat as composed as before. “Directions, Meru. Now go or I’ll have you re-take the test for a better grade.”

Meru left within moments. She had no intentions of increasing her eighty-seven percentage.



A buzzing sound sliced through the almost quiet atmosphere. Annoyed at the consistency of the sound, Meru shot her eyes upwards to where Aeron sat on the other side of her room. Meru had no clock in the room, so she relied on the darkness outside of her colossal windows. If she listened carefully, she would be able to hear the low crackles of the leaves whispering in the wind amongst the branches swaying to the nightly atmosphere. If she were able to hear that, she knew her parents were no longer watching television on the first floor which meant the hour had past nine o’clock. The indication pointed towards the halftime show at the Homecoming game. Meru could only imagine the expressions on her peers’ faces.

At the thought, her lips pursed. Her anger from Aeron’s consistently buzzing phone simmered into seldom. She never participated as much as her peers, so nothing would be thought of from her sudden disappearance. Oh well.

“Who’s calling?” Meru questioned after her minor reflection. “And by the way, I thought we agreed to have phones off.”

“Nah uh. You wanted to turn your phone off so no one from the Student Council could reach you.” Aeron answered. Meru looked up with a slight scowl painted over her lips. Aeron was focusing his attention on texting whomever had been trying so desperately to get a hold of him for the past two hours. The moment Aeron looked up once tossing his phone onto one of the footrests a good ten feet away from him, he smirked. “You can’t try to be angry, Meru. You just look sexy.”

Meru’s façade fell instantly. “I’ve been really getting into this Chemistry bull crap and the moment I have a near epiphany, your damn phone just buzzes off the hook.”

Meru tossed her pencil down and fell back onto her bed, sighing as her body sunk into her duvet. She closed her eyes and moments later, Aeron’s scent infiltrated her nostrils. His weight soon followed beside her once her senses were only on that of Aeron Webster’s. Her stress from the day as well as her oddly tight muscles unwound into nothingness. Aeron noticed her deep inhaling and slow exhaling and scrunched his eyebrows together. He leant up on a bent elbow and stared down at her closed, auburn-russet shadowed eyelids.

“I’ll help you, Meru.”

She shook her head to the side. “Nah, that’s not it.”

He rose one curious eyebrow. “Then what is.”

She let out a withered sigh, pouting her plump lips in the slightest. “I’m getting tutoring on Monday.”

“What?” Meru could feel shock radiate onto her from Aeron’s flinch. “But we’re supposed to donate blood on Monday.”

Meru’s lips created a crescent moon in the form of a smile. Aeron was destined - according to his sonly requirements set upon by himself - to become a surgeon. From the get-go, or at least from the time Meru had formed an alliance with Aeron, he had his dreams set in the medical field. Every year a new profession was desired only to be replaced by something more refine from his learning in school. Now that Aeron had an idea of college - having already been selected to study at Colombia University the following Fall - his idea of medicine had been more resolute than the past few years. In a way, his perseverance inspired Meru. She wanted to become a better student and to achieve more.

Not all influenced by her insane mother, being stuck in Baltimore with no intuition expenses, or being left behind while Aeron went to New York without her.

So, she really did need the special tutoring sessions. Meru never had a definite dream ideal in her head, even when she was a child filled to the brim of naivety and innocence. The moment she met Aeron and knew he would never let her off easy, she knew their futures had to be shared. The both of them knew Meru could play selfishly just as easily as she could slither her way into someone’s heart undetected. She wanted to be with Aeron in New York. To her, tagging along to find her way beside him is not selfish. Forfeiting her friendship with him, is, and by not going to New York with him would be. In no way possible would she succumb to that.

“I know, Aeron. And go to Brookstone for the sale on lasers. But maybe we can go next weekend? The sale doesn’t end until next Monday.”

“But it’s your birthday.” Aeron reminded her. “We’ve already got plans.”

“Dammit.” she sighed, finally opening her eyes to see beyond Aeron’s rustled hair towards her bland ceiling. “I really wanted to get those lasers.”

As if light had been created in Meru’s eyes, sparks of delight exploded. She looked to Aeron and he instantly denied giving into the familiar plead. “No, absolutely not Meru. You’re the one who planned this weekend solely for studying. You need it more than I, so I agreed and I will not let you flake on this.”

Darkness quickly clouded her delightful eyes. In one blink, it seemed as if Meru had been replaced with something evil not know to man. “Damn. You.”

“Damn yourself girl.” Aeron drawled, falling onto his back to roll off the side of the bed. “So what are the details of this tutoring?”

Meru sat up as well and plopped herself towards the foot of the bed before picking herself up and walking towards her thrown and dismay backpack across the room, laying carelessly beside Aeron’s. She ignored the assignments she would finish in the next two days and pulled free the same piece of paper given to her hours and hours earlier in the day. Unfolding it, she walked over to where Aeron sat and dropped herself on the bed behind him.

“I don’t know where that is, but I’mma Google Map it later. Mr. Lennox is going to be tutoring me.”

“Ahhhh.”

Meru slapped his back which evoked a mixture of a groan and a chuckle. “Don’t you ‘ahhhh’ me.” she made a sorry attempt at mocking him which only resulted in Aeron snickering. “Shut up.”

“You are so weird, I hope you do know that Meru. You hate Mr. Sauvageau with an intense passion, and alas, you’re in love with his best friend. I swear, something’s wrong with you.”

“And I hope you know the only way you can say something is wrong with me is when you’re as dubiously carefree as you are now, right?”

Aeron rolled his eyes but knew if he were to try to insult Meru Lang, he would need to be pardoned by the Presidential stature from purchasing the assistance of communism protection on American soil. He imagined what Meru’s first outburst would be like, and eagerly awaited for a day to present itself. Meru was too complex to be too solid. One day, she would erupt. That day Aeron would be there. He still has yet to determine his cause for appearance.

“And Mr. Lennox isn’t only going to be tutoring me in the mathematics. Supposedly, he’ll test my skills at this place and create some sort of educational dynamic.”

“Educational dynamic huh?” he murmured as he folded the paper according to its creases before falling back so he and Meru made a crooked cross. She happily supported his weight by grasping a pillow from behind her and placing it on Aeron’s stomach. Once he rested it underneath his head and wiggled to his accommodation, he was just as comfortable as Meru. “You give little direction pointing south for your sudden elation whenever Mr. Lennox pops up.”

“Must I point out how utterly attractive that man is?” she piped in an octave higher than normal.

“That’s mostly everyone else but you speaking.”

“Yeah, well, they’re not wrong.” Meru pointed out in a smooth voice. “Just because he’s attractive and I happen to favor his teaching skills over than most, doesn’t mean I have a crush on him. What about Mrs. Eldhen, your British Literature teacher from last year? She was hot.”

“Yeah, and when she wore skirts with shirts that barely covered her midriff, her C-Section scar would show when she’d bend over. Not so hot, and besides, I don’t dig married women. Too much of a hassle.”

“Correction: you don’t dig married women with four toddlers. That is too much of a hassle.”

“I stand corrected.”

“Lay, actually.”

“Are you trying to persuade me to sleep with you, Meru?”

“Oh, you know my love is just as fickle.”

“Then let’s get started. If you don’t wanna get preggers, then I hope you have condoms somewhere here. I don’t do safe sex.”

“I’ve got one better.” Meru flailed one arm out beside her. “There’s whip cream in the drawer. You ready to look like a dog foaming at the mouth?”

“Bring it babe.”

Neither of them moved. They tilted their heads to each other and the moment their eyes locked, they erupted in laughter. Meru wiggled herself out from underneath Aeron while he managed to sit criss-crossed. “Do you really have whip cream in your drawers?” Aeron asked once they were able to speak coherently.

Meru smiled and nodded funnily. She crawled closer to her nightstand and threw her hands onto the floor to support the lower half of her weight on the bed. Maneuvering her hands towards the legs of her nightstand, she slithered her right hand underneath the cool air and grasped a small, brass key. Meru placed the key in between her teeth and pushed herself up with an oof before she sat on her knees. She unlocked the third drawer to her nightstand and pulled free a bottle of Whip It whip cream.

“Last week me and my mother got into it and after she stormed out of the kitchen, I jacked this from the pantry.”

“Ew.” Aeron declined Meru’s outwards offer. “That’s been in there a week? I don’t want stale whip cream, thanks.”

Meru squirted the whip cream in between her pouted lips. “But it tastes good. Like, really good.”

Meru continued sucking down her whip cream as she watched Aeron’s eyes fluttered upwards before they returned down to hers. “Well, I would take stale whip cream over your veggies any day. Who knows what goes down, down there.”

On impulse, Meru threw the can of whip cream at Aeron’s head. With his gasps and hisses of distraught brought on a wicked smile only Aeron and their families witnessed on a weekly basis. “Evil! Abuse! What the hell is wrong with you? Who baseball pitches a can of whip cream at people?! Let alone, their best friends. You’re lucky you missed my glasses…”

Meru ignored the slick glare sent her way at the end of his words. “You deserved it. And if you must know…” Meru drawled innocently as she ejected herself from her bed to allow Aeron to cower pitifully. “My veggies aren’t salty like your species’ crème da la crème.”

Aeron’s whimpering ceased for a new light to cast over his dark eyes. He turned around, still crouched on the bed, to face Meru. He tilted his head in the slightest as he looked at her. “Are you telling me…”

“Nothing.” she clarified with a simple smile. “Just informing you that I’m not the prude you think I am.”

That light in his eyes spread to his entire face. “Wow. My idiosyncratic friend is capable of having an orgasm. I feared for you there for a while, you know.”

“Oh screw you.” she rolled her eyes and waved him off as she cleared her books, notebooks, pencils and pens from her bed.

Aeron grasped her wrist before she clear the last textbook on her bed, which happened to be Trigonometry. “Wouldn’t you just love to?”

Meru covered her palm over her giggling lips and retreated to placing the non-existent textbook of mind with the rest stacked neatly on a mini bookshelf in the corner of her room, cleverly placed behind her door. “So, are you going to spend all night here until your mom calls at two A.M. wondering just where the hell is her baby boy, or are you going to finally answer mommy’s calls and tell her you’ll be having a movie marathon with me?”

Aeron took one glance at his cell phone lying abandoned across the room before matching his bruised gaze on Meru. “How’d you know it was her?”

Meru shrugged. “A woman always knows when another woman is calling her man.”



Hurricane Janet hit at seven forty-two Saturday morning. Over the span of the week, the destruction of the hurricane had decreased from a threat three to a threat one. By the time it reached stateside, the only indication of a hurricane approaching was the increase in rain. Residents who were familiar with nature’s foul play barely acknowledged the horrible winds and gusts of rain. Residents similar to Meru slept through the awakening of the hurricane and slept well past its mourn. They only realized the renowned hurricane had came and went was the nightly news.

For Meru, the same mentality lasted the entire weekend. She was on a drone and with high enthusiasm to complete all of the schoolwork and homework she had defied over the past week. Even without the constant text messages and phone calls from her best friend reminding her to do so, she would have still edged on. She needed to be fully prepared for whatever Lennox threw at her.

So far, he threw out an undecipherable book store address. Before Meru left her house over an hour ago, she had checked various maps online and her city atlas for the address. She was a bit skeptical when she left her home, but she knew Lennox would never give her a faulty address. Especially if he was setting aside time from a well deserved day off. For all he knew with Meru’s reputation, she could be sleeping soundly until the break of dusk. If it weren’t for the sporadic date, she would be doing just that.

However, the deeper and deeper she drove into the heart of Baltimore, Maryland, she doubted her Trigonometry teacher altogether. She had just gotten off the freeway and stopped at a red light when she sunk into the driver’s seat. As she stared defiantly at the red light staring its unwavering crimson eye, she sighed heavily and began tapping her distraught tension into the steering wheel. According to the directions laying unavailing in the passenger seat, she was far off course. When her father had realized just how lucky Meru was when she passed the test for her driver’s license, he purchased a GPS for her car. Meru didn’t have the slightest indication as to how to work it properly, but from how difficult it was to deal with, it was expensive.

Her father absolutely despised Meru when she happened to accidentally break things - which happened too often for her liking - so she made sure to only use love taps on it when it back-talked her.

Once the GPS finally fell upon the same mindset as Meru did she calm down. Unfortunately, she became painstakingly pensive. She had just repaired the first thing that irked her: her GPS. The second was Lennox. She did not have the pleasure of starting McElderrey High from the beginning and fulfilling its first legacy. When McElderrey High was built and had been finalized for appropriate standards of teaching, her parents barely acknowledged the hype from the news. As did Meru. She went to a fairly decent middle school across town from where she lived. She liked it so much she had high hopes both she and Aeron would attend its sister school, which happened to be a fairly renowned high school. Most of the graduating eighth graders then had gossiped honorably about the school which then led to Meru’s intrigue.

After the scandal that rocked the region, Meru definitely was sure she would attend the sister school. She was sure her parents would not want their only child to attend a filthy school which lacked credentials. Surely. Meru had been so positive. When her parents told her Meru had been registered for Yvonne Elena McElderrey High School, Meru flipped a good one. Almost nearly, she had a mild case of a mental breakdown. Only, of course, to persuade her parents in their set decision.

It didn’t sway them in the least.

Yvonne Elena McElderrey High School had been directed by a nunnery the first two years it was opened. Very few high schools in Baltimore were established as privately religious environments. The fact that it was operated by nuns that were extracted from Italy heightened the appeal for parents who wanted discipline set upon their adolescent children. Meru didn’t know much of the school before the scandal except for the fact that the school didn’t participate with other private high schools in sports. Only academic activities withdrew the school from its shadows.

The head Madame of McElderrey was involved in risqué affair with an eleventh grade boy. Apparently, to the news reports Meru had seen, the affair had began during the first year the school opened and - News 6 refused to distinguish its results - drained to nothing just before the scandal had been publicized. The boy was of consensual age and of legal age and no longer a minor. Yet, the scandal caused a major uproar throughout the entire state of Maryland. Madame Yvonne had been under immunity from her covenant in Italy and was immediately shipped back to the country before she could be charged with counts of anything. From there, words spread far from lips. Since no consensus has been heard directly from the boy involved in the affair, the younger demographic believed he fled the country alongside with Madame Yvonne. Others believed he fled the state to finish the rest of his high school career. Some even went as far to say he was killed; supposedly by the other younger men Madame Yvonne was allegedly having an affair with.

Meru didn’t care much on the scandal, but thought injustice was brought to the former principal of McElderrey High. The mayor of Baltimore had taken the matter into her own hands and changed the entire exterior to the school’s name. McElderrey had been swept clean from head to toe. It was no longer referred to a salacious private school when the following Fall it was re-opened the football team took state championship. The quicker the school rose with its sports team, the quicker it became the diamond eye of public schooling. It earned its name once again from the public.

Although Meru did not see the necessity to become an honorable member of the McElderrey alumni, she would be proud to finish her high school career as a McElderrey Mason.

To ensure she would, she would need to find the place Lennox had her searching on a wild goose hunt. Due to the uproar and despicable distaste McElderrey was shunned for, regulations were set by the mayor. Not only for McElderrey High, but for all schools throughout the regions she had jurisdiction over. Madame Yvonne slithered away with so much of Baltimore’s opulence. To prevent a repeat of indignity, the principals were to file through various paperwork for teacher-student affliction. If for any reason a student were to contribute after school activities against their own routine regimen, it was to be documented and regulated by the principal. Once Meru caught wind of the oddities contradicting the high school, she wasn’t in the least surprised an ex-military man was appointed the job.

And, if Meru had conjured a correct thought, then Principal Roeth had performed his job with the utmost dignity. The longer she thought about just how much Lennox must have gone through to provide Meru with extra education calmed her down.

Until, of course, she finally found the book store. It was five miles off from the directions laying unwontedly beside her. It was ten minutes off from her GPS.

A fire electrocuted her eyes when she parked in an empty space beside a vacant handicap parking space. She glared at her GPS and slapped it as if she had just found out the love of her life had a bastard child with her cousin.

“Damn thing. Sometimes I wonder - no, actually, all the time I wonder - just why daddy bought this for me. You’re as useless as a toilet in the woods with no plumbing whatsoever. Just downright ridiculous.”

Although she was angry with her insufficient piece of technology, the crisp bite to the wind soothed her agitated skin. The sky was void of any threatening cloud and almost mimicked a picture. The air was cold and thin, but usually after an unbearable storm as one preparing for Hurricane Janet, the weather always turned out to be unusual. The blue canvas was dull but bright, just bright enough to neglect the sun’s hidden rays from forthcoming rain clouds. Meru stared at the clouds and could depict that a light shower would sway her to sleep tonight. Very rarely does Meru stretch far to appreciate the excessive things in life, but she couldn’t stop the small smile forming at her lips.

It had been too long since Meru had seen a clear sky.

She locked her car absentmindedly as she walked into the building that was labeled Baltimore’s Best. To her alarm, she noticed it wasn’t just a bookshop. It also held a delightful coffee shop that required half of the first floor. Not many people were taking up residence at the coffee shop, and by wandering her eyes over her surroundings, Meru could tell not many people were in the store itself. If the barely vacant parking lot couldn’t tell her anything.

Even though she spent most of her awake hours driving, she noticed she had arrived just on time in accordance with the time Lennox had indicated. It was only ten o’clock. Meru definitely was not a fan of coffee, but seeing as she didn’t have the slightest gesture as to why Lennox wanted to study here, she found herself venturing towards the front counter to the coffee shop. She didn’t think to bring much money with her and only salvaged for a simple twenty dollar bill that has been residing restlessly in her wallet for the past three months. Unlike most teenagers her age, she found it hard to spend her well-earned paychecks. Quite a large sum had accumulated in her bank account. Although she had no desire to purchase anything worth saving up for, she often pondered how much it would cost to buy a chauffeur. Not hire, but buy. Permanently. After her driving extravaganza just this morning, she wondered why she didn’t already have one.

Meru made sure to sit at a table far from hindering anyone’s private time with their books and breakfast foods. Once she seated herself in a chair that faced the entrance to the store - to stare down Lennox professionally for being late once he popped up - she sighed softly through her nose and suddenly felt vulnerable. Her dark eyes passed over those in the café, blocked off by the actual bookstore by old Victorian designed fencing that barely rose about three feet. She knew places as such demanded a silent pretense and yet, it stupefied her that people could douse themselves in such an element. It itched in the back of her head. She just felt so uncomfortable, like she did when she was a little girl waiting for her daddy to come pick her up after school on a sunny day where everyone in her grade could see she was desperate for cover.

Concentrated on her coffee, she relaxed and recalled the simple days. She absolutely despised the sun. Living in California during her childhood did nothing but agitate her with its sunny character. She was too young to understand but she knew she was relieved when she moved to Maryland and learnt it snowed and rained fifty percent more than it did in California. For a girl of her interior and exterior, she was far too ecstatic when the first snowfall came.

At the distinctive memory, a faint shiver tickled through her veins. Meru crept her vision from the door and looked down to her finished mug of coffee. It didn’t taste as much as she had hoped. After all, she purchased the cheapest coffee on the menu - what was she to expect? - but she only devoured it as quickly as she did because of the obvious reasons. One being she paid for it. The other was to satisfy the girl who sold it to her, whom Meru noticed, had a keen eye on her from behind the counter. With the lack of customers, the girl seemed desperate to occupy herself.

Maneuvering the empty cup a little ways away from her, Meru slid her hands down her thighs and glanced around the colossal bookcases. The store was very old-fashioned. The scent to its name defined Baltimore. Although the only modern taste to the bookshop was the café, just sitting silently and taking in the bookshop for all its worth, Meru felt the bookshop belonged where it stood. From outside, she would not have been able to guess so much could fit into the limited space. The longer she stared at the bookcases on the first floor, the more worried she became. Even though she knew it was farfetched, but what of the possibility that Lennox got as lost as she did?

Meru had just looked away from the clock behind the counter of the café when a cutely decorated mug placed on a small, circular plate was placed in front of her. Lips pursed in wonder, she looked up and inwardly gasped at the beautiful eyes glittering at her. In a deep shade of lovat, her brown eyes were mesmerized by the handsome young man’s green eyes shaded by a pair of dark-rimmed glasses. His high cheekbones were accentuated by the faded hue to his complexion brought on by the chill weather. Surrounded by a pronounced jaw line were pouty, pink lips, clearly famished from a woman’s touch. Meru was sure if the handsome young man stripped away the transition of Fall-to-Winter layers, she would be able to define the rest of him just as prominent as his face. She noticed his scarf hung neatly around his neck, as well as the beanie thrown sloppily over his sandy brown hair.

There was no denying he was attractive. The modesty Meru suspected from him easily allured her to him further.

She watched in cautious curiosity as he sat down opposite of her.

“The hot cocoa is definitely a safer bet than the Homestead Coffee.”

Meru’s judgment hazed at the sound of his deep, smooth voice. “I may be a bit bias since I’ve never ordered it before but anything is better than a cup of coffee that is worth two dollars and nineteen cents. But, if it gets the job done, right?”

It wasn’t a joke or slightly humorous, but the soft smile pointed her way caused her to borderline giggle and chuckle. She nodded and looked to the cup in front of her. “Thank you.”

The young man shrugged. “You looked cold. And lonely. I figured hot cocoa might brighten your morning.”

“For all you know, I could be allergic.”

“And if the hot cocoa didn’t meet your expectations, I would have kept you company.” he reasoned before speaking softly, “But no one in this world can be allergic to this hot cocoa.”

“That sure, are you?”

He gestured to the cup in front of her before straightening his posture. “Prove me wrong?”

Meru chuckled from the forlorn expression that quickly ghosted over his face. He smiled at her reaction and watched as she dragged the plate closer to her. She stared at the steam circling above the foamy pattern in the liquid and blew softly over the cup. The steam didn’t make any notion of simmering. Before Meru could continue blowing softly over it, a pale hand fell into her line of vision before a square piece of chocolate was lost in a sea of foam and hot chocolate. The young man picked up the spoon that rested on the corner of the plate and slowly mixed the chocolate into the steamy liquid.

“The chocolate helps cool it down faster. And, personally, I like the design the melted chocolate creates in the foam.”

Meru matched her wondered eyes to his and he made a simple, green-eyed gesture towards the cup. She lowered her gaze and was oddly astonished by the swirls the oozing chocolate was manifesting. With a smile at her red lips, Meru awed and gently gathered the cup in her hands once the young man blessed the beverage with a soft breath of his own. As the sweet liquid trickled down her throat, her eyes fluttered shut and then opened when her lips left the rim of the mug. A pleasant smile met her gaze.

“Is it to your liking?”

“Very much. It could almost rank number one as the best hot cocoa I’ve ever had.” Meru spoke softly, savoring the remnants of the chocolate on her tongue.

“Almost?” the young man sounded flabbergast. “As far as I’m concerned, I just bought you your first cup of the finest hot cocoa around.”

“What if I’m not satisfied with this?” her forefinger tapped against the cup as she took another slow drink.

“I think I have time to persuade you over another cup.”

One cup turned into two and a half cups of hot cocoa and one cup of the young man’s favorite coffee, which Meru learned to be Ivan. In between their playful banters over beverages, he spoke immaterially of his passion for photography. Ivan displayed a few of his favorite cameras he had with him along with photos he had taken recently and despite the vague themes, Meru was astonished. Potential and talent oozed effortlessly from the photos and Meru found herself craving more of his intellect. She learned he was a sophomore in college and was only extracting his art leisurely while majoring in world culture. His words fascinated her, and she soon realized why he had found Baltimore’s Best as his favorite spot. Everything he needed could be found here. Inspiration, motivation, and innovation. Meru flushed at how full of life he was compared to her. She had no imagination - so she believed - when it came to future professions and how to apply herself towards them. All she was concerned with was graduating, which further embarrassed her.

Ivan merely chuckled at Meru’s reluctantness to admit she was only a senior at McElderrey High School. He assured her the fondness of memories are acquired in the setting she seemed ashamed of. In fact, he found it appealing that she kept her chin low when she spoke of anything remotely alluring to herself. He listened aptly to her ideals, something Meru was quite surprised with. She may have had experience with the opposite sex, but she was sure she would have bored him and sent him packing right through the nearest exit. It confounded her that when she would look away from fidgeting with her cup and into his eyes he seemed genuinely interested in what she said. Of all the guys she had been romantically involved with, none possessed the trait.

When finally questioned on her appearance to the bookshop, Meru had eased the anxious tension from her hands of being in such close proximity to someone so handsome. And single. “Actually, I’m here for a tutoring lesson.”

“In what?”

Meru blushed and dipped her chin slightly. “Trigonometry.”

“Really? You’ve been here for a while, now. I think it’s safe to say you’ve been stood up if your mentor hasn’t showed up yet.”

“Ha, yeah. We were supposed to meet here at ten, and it’s almost been forty minutes since then.” Meru spoke with an underlying tone of disappointment as she let her eyes wander over the large clock displayed behind the counter of the café.

“I aced through my Trigonometry class and Calculus classes in high school. How about I assist you?”

“I think not.” a deep voice sliced through the comfortable setting before Meru could eagerly accept.

Although Meru had been on edge waiting to see his face, she wasn’t as surprised as she had thought when she looked up to match the voice to his face. Lennox stood behind her and had placed a hand on her shoulder, staring directly across from her. “If you’re done chatting, I would like for you to join me now.” he advised while barely averting his gaze.

Meru desperately wanted to tell her teacher to give her five minutes, but the atmosphere had already lost its lust. The moment she looked away from him and to Ivan, she wasn’t the only one who had felt the mutual feeling disappear. She looked regrettably at their half drunken cups. “I really wish I could finish our coffee together.”

Ivan emanated a smile that seemed to glow around Meru’s aura. “It was pleasant to share time with you.”

Meru inwardly whined. How much more perfect can a guy sound than saying something as heartwarmingly casual as that?

“Bye, Ivan.”

That alluring smile still remained on his handsome face. “Good luck with your studies, Meru.”

Meru stood up and followed behind Lennox up the spiral staircase just outside of the barrier separating the back of the café to the bookshop. It took every fiber in Meru’s essence to not turn around and catch one final look from Ivan’s green haze. But, the vibe that emerged from her teacher put her on edge and immediately cast out any of her normal ridiculousness tendencies. The anxiety to reach the final step echoed throughout her mind in wonder. Whatever this Lennox was, was not the Lennox she knew on a daily basis.

Instead of exhaling heavily on the tension between the two, she fell in step beside him when they reached the second floor. His eyes were elsewhere and if he didn’t slow down to match his steps with her, she would have thought he had forgotten all about her.

“So, Mr. Lennox, what held you up?”

“What do you mean?”

His voice was genuinely much softer than before, and more distinctly relaxed. Meru had never heard him speak so… natural. If she listened closely, she could hear a slight accent to his tone. “Well, you asked to meet here at ten, on the dot. Precisely.”

Lennox looked over his shoulder to watch Meru conduct a slash through the air with her forearm, a cute purse forming around her lips. He smirked when he turned around and stopped at a random bookshelf, scanning through the titles in front of him. “I was here at nine forty-five.”

Meru’s lips fell from their purse and her eyes stared up in mystification at her tall teacher as she crowded around his left side. “Seriously? I was here exactly at ten. I mean, I could have been here sooner if my damn GPS and directions actually worked well with me. How come you only waited until now to come and find me?”

Meru didn’t catch it, but Lennox rolled his eyes. “A wise man once said if you show up early, then you are on time. If you show up on time, then you are late. Do you know who said that?”

Meru scoffed lightly and crossed her arms and followed after Lennox on his trail to wherever he was searching for something. “Yeah, my orchestra teacher.” Lennox found himself smiling at the sudden disdain in her tone. “Mr. Tesche says that all the time. Especially when a few guys show up a few minutes late to an after school rehearsal.”

“From today’s experience, you are one of the few?”

Meru scoffed and made a funny gesture which caused Lennox to scrunch his nose. “Yeah right. I always show up early. Playing the violin is a passion of mine and I really love Mr. Tesche. Orchestra is my favorite class. Aside from yours, of course.” she added in quickly.

“If my class was one of your favorites, your grades would be much higher than they are. Say, compared to your AP Chemistry grades.”

Lennox looked to Meru for a reaction and was rather impressed that she looked curious. “Has Mr. S graded my test yet? Come on, you can tell me. I promise I won’t tell.”

“She did surprisingly well.” Lennox spoke, quoting his friend from last night’s conjoined grading process. “You got a C plus.”

Lennox looked over his shoulder from the shiver provoked from a gasp. Meru had her hands over her mouth and her eyes lit up to where her soft complexion glowed. She was bouncing on her toes ever so slightly and within in seconds, she was giggling. Lennox smiled at her minor celebration and carried on with what he was searching for.

“Oh my god, I got a C! It wasn’t a D! Ahh, that just totally made my day. Thank you for the head’s up, Mr. Lennox. I can practice my surprise face when he calls out the scores Wednesday.”

“Back to the root of things, Meru, is that I shouldn’t have to come and look for you. You’re an adult and I entrust you to take on the role.”

Smiling innocently, Meru sashayed up to his side and tilted her head in the slightest. “I’m still only seventeen, Mr. Lennox. So you know my birthday’s tomorrow? Are you going to give me a present?”

This time when Lennox’s face tightened to prevent him from rolling his eyes, Meru chuckled and bumped her arm into his much buffer one. “I need you to take this seriously, Meru.”

Meru gave him a salute.

“I’m dead serious, Meru. I need you to be as dedicated to our study sessions as you are to, say, your violin practices or your dance rehearsals. I need your word that you’ll take this seriously. No tomfoolery.”

Meru giggled at the word and waved it off. “That’s so old school Mr. Lennox, but yes, I vow, as of now, I, Meru Lang, will promise my sole dedication and undivided attention when I’m with you. I promise.”

“I’m holding it to you, Meru.”

Meru nodded and smiled softly at her teacher. “I really need this, Mr. Lennox. I won’t bail on you. You have no idea how badly I need to get out of Baltimore.”

Smirking, Lennox turned from her and led a zigzag pattern through the many bookshelves. “Is that so? From your actions earlier with that young man, I can see every pulse that will testify against your statement.”

Lennox didn’t need to turn around to see that she was either fidgeting or blushing. He knew her too well. Even if he had only been her teacher for the past two and a half months, he knew her too well. She didn’t do a very good job at hiding her persona. Or, so he believed.