The Singer and the Teacher

The sun was starting to rise in the bay area, and I was a little disappointed when Derek went into a little cafe. I followed him inside and saw that he was headed to the old piano in the back. There was a tattered sign that said to respect the conversations of other customers and play quietly sitting on the bench, but there wasn't anyone in there but the baristas who didn't even blink at us.

"What are you doing?" I asked as he uncovered the keys and played a few chords.

"I'm singing you a song," he said, clearing his throat and beginning to play. "I look back to the one and only summer time..."

I'm not sure where I found a chair, but I was sitting completely still, my things on the floor next to my feet. If there was one thing I knew about music, it was that it was powerful. When I was getting my teaching license, someone's cell phone went off with some vulgar rap song as the ringtone. We had an argument about whether music influenced kids or not. I was on the side that believed music could influence anyone, not just kids. Now here I was, the victim of a piano and a pretty boy's voice.

He must have finished the song at some point, but I was still ogling him like a kid at a cotton candy stand. I snapped out of it when he put his hand on my cheek.

"Sorry," I said, blinking a few times and very subtly shook my head.

"I don't want to leave," he said, lowering down to one knee to be eye-level with me.

"You have to."

"No," he argued. "I can't take another what if, not when it's you."

"Don't do this," I begged, hanging my head but holding his hands. "This isn't fair for anyone."

I looked up and the best and worst thing happened. His lips had caught mine just as I was about to give another reason that he had to go home, and I couldn't stop. It was overwhelming; if I hadn't known any better, I would have thought I had never kissed anyone before.

"I think I can let you go to work now," he whispered, his forehead resting against mine. "But this is far from over."

I desperately wanted to believe him, but even as he waved down a taxi for me and I watched him watch me get further and further away, I had a feeling I wasn't going to see him for a long time.

* * *

I was on cloud nine. Not even at our best have I ever felt like this with Pilar. I caught a cab back to the beach house, but what greeted me there wasn't going to allow me to stay up in the clouds.

"Derek, sit down," said Jake seriously, his face grim. I obeyed, but looked around at the rest of them. Alex looked more annoyed than anything, and everyone else simply looked grim. "Pilar is in town."

"What?!" I barked, almost standing back up to run away. "Why?"

"She said it was your anniversary or something, but that's beside the point," said Alex, and he unfolded a newspaper. "She saw the paper, with a picture of you and Adriene when you saved her from the bay. Whoever wrote the article knew what school she was going to start working at. I think you can figure out the rest."

I picked up the paper and read the short article in a few seconds, feeling immensely guilty for getting her into this. I thought about going to her school myself, but after a second thought, I realized that was a bad idea. Pilar would only freak out more.

"What should we do?" I asked, and Alex shrugged.

"I don't know," he said, leaning back in the wicker chair. "You could always call the principal there or something."

"Or you could go there for me," I suggested, and slid onto my knees to beg. "Please! Pilar is already going to rip me a new one, and even Adriene isn't all that happy with me."

"What did you do to her?"

"I kissed her."

"Oh, this is getting messy," he said, but there was a small smile on his face. "Fine. I'll do it. But you owe me."

* * *

There were only four girls coming to my summer classes, and they were all very sweet. Tamara was on the cheerleading squad, but wouldn't have been allowed back on without these classes. Christy was a rebel, and did as much as she could to make her uniform more unique. She had numerous bracelets on her wrists like Derek did, but I had a sneaking feeling that they were less of a fashion statement and more of a way to hide things she didn't want anyone to see. Jessica and Rachel were sisters, and they wanted to be able to speak in Latin behind their parents' backs for fun.

When they all arrived, they sat at the table in front. Instead of sitting at my desk, I pulled up a chair and sat with them. Mrs. Langley, the principal and woman who hired me, stood in the doorway, watching me.

"Good morning, ma'am," I said to her before addressing my new students. "And good morning, ladies."

"Good morning, Miss McNair," the said in unison, and I smiled.

"I know this isn't what you're used to, but I think we should spend most of today getting to know each other," I said, leaning on my elbows. "This isn't some new age teacher thing. By getting to know you, even a little bit, I can help you learn your own way. Make sense?" They nodded. "We can start with me. Ask me anything."

"How old are you?" asked Rachel.

"Twenty three."

"Do you like music?" That was Christy.

"I love music."

"What was the last song you listened to?" she asked, interrupting both Tamara and Jessica. I blushed all the way to the roots of my hair.

"Kids in Love by Mayday Parade."

"You listen to Mayday Parade?! I love them!" she exclaimed, any hint of a gloomy attitude disappeared and she wore a smile.

"Do you have a boyfriend?" asked Jessica, glancing at Christy to see if she was going to interrupt again.

"Not currently," I said, and I thought I heard my name being said in the hallway. I turned my head and saw a dark haired individual that I recognized as Alex. He was talking to Mrs. Langley, gesturing to me and looked like he was pleading. When she nodded curtly, he sauntered into the room and she left.

"Alex, what are you doing here?" I asked, and I heard Christy gasp.

"I'm your guest, remember?" he said, winking. "A certain somebody sent me over to look after you."

"You're...you're Alex. From Mayday Parade," she stammered, pointing at him, and he flashed a big grin.

"The one and only," he said, and pulled up a chair next to me. "Can you teach me dirty words in Greek to call Derek?"

"Alex, this is Christy, Tamara, Rachel and Jessica. Ladies, this is Alex," I said, but Christy couldn't stop gaping at me.

"You know him?" she asked, and laughed before she received an answer. "You're the best Latin teacher ever."

"Derek would have come over himself, but he's on girlfriend duty," he explained. "Pilar flew out here to kill you."

"Are we still allowed to ask questions?" Tamara asked, her hand half raised.

"Yes."

"I listen to Mayday Parade, too. How do you know them so...personally?"

"Let me answer this one," said Alex, covering my mouth. "You're all so pretty...anyway, Adriene here--"

"It's Miss McNair," I interrupted, and held up a hand. "My classroom, my rules."

"Miss McNair, then," he said, and continued. "She was walking along Fisherman's Wharf when she stopped to look at the sea lions, just twenty feet from my dear friend, Derek. Some punks stole her purse and pushed her over the railing into the bay. Derek chased after the boys, retrieved her purse, and grabbed her arm as she was slipping on the mossy rocks.

"So Dickhead--sorry, Derek--has decided that he's madly in love with Miss McNair," he finished, and I couldn't help my glare.

"Dixit Quid? Quare autem non huc se? Non egeo explicentur. Relinquunt," I snapped, and I didn't even notice I hadn't spoken in English.

"So, do we get to know what that means, or...?"

"She said, "He said what? Why didn't he come here himself? I don't need protecting. Leave.", " translated Christy.

"Very good," I praised. "Why are you taking extra Latin classes?"

"I can't speak it very well, but I can translate it," she said, and I smiled.

"Adriene," said Alex firmly, grabbing my shoulder and making me face him. "You don't understand. If Pilar finds you, she will have no problem--"

"Killing her? Beating her to a pulp? I'd listen to him if I were you," said a female voice, and Alex's eyes almost popped out of his head. "Come on, guys. Let's take a walk, or we can settle this the old fashioned way."

I told the girls to wait for me and tell Mrs. Langley that I was in the restroom if she stopped by, and in the meantime, to read their Latin books. I followed Alex and Pilar to the parking lot where she turned on me. She would have been taller than me even without the heels, her pitch black hair fell past her shoulder blades and her dark brown eyes bore into my skull. She wore a short, skin-tight skirt and a grey tank top, too many necklaces and too much eyeliner.

"So, this is our little slut," she said, her hip stuck out. I wanted to say, "Who's the slut?", but I didn't want to try my luck. She was twice my size. I made a mental note to take self-defense classes.

"I thought Derek already talked to you," said Alex, and she snorted.

"More like lied through his teeth," she said, tossing her hair over her shoulder with one motion of her head. "He's been sleeping with her, I can tell from the attachment in his voice."

"He met her yesterday!"

"He only kissed me once," I said, and they both looked at me.

"That's it?" she asked, and I nodded. She looked at Alex and shrugged. "Oh well. I'm still mad." I didn't have time to comprehend that she wanted to hurt me and dodge her fist, so the last thing I remember was falling to the pavement as blood poured out of my nose and the inky blackness when my head hit first.