Shaded Beauty

As he stood in front of 30 or so teenagers whispering and shooting curious glances in his direction, Colton started to reevaluate his life choices. Dear Jesus, why did I ever decide that teaching high school would be a good idea? He knew why; it was the promise of two months off and an inability to understand small children that led him here. Well, that and a pile of broken dreams.

Not soon enough, the bell signifying the beginning of the school day rang, and Colton prepared to grab the class’s attention. To his surprise, however, the room immediately went silent as all sets of eyes turned intently to him. This is ridiculous, I feel like a circus monkey. Glancing around, he noticed that there were a few empty seats, but it was pointless to wait around for them to be filled. Well, here goes nothing.

After clearing his throat with a quick cough that still seemed to fill the deafened room, he began. “Hello everyone. I’m sure most of you are wondering who I am and what I’m doing here.” He then paused as he turned around and scratched his name on the blackboard. “My name is-“

Suddenly a click was heard and Colton turned as the door opened. A girl slowly began to enter, but upon catching sight of him she stopped in her tracks and gawked. Stragglers…what a joy.

Shaya remained implanted in place as she watched the stranger in front of her. That is definitely not Mrs. Greely. A substitute? No. In the fifteen years she’d worked at the school the woman had only taken one sick day, and that was only because the doctors refused to operate on her desk.

Then who is this guy? He was definitely an authority figure; his grey slacks, white oxford and royal blue tie told her that much. It was his young face that threw Shaya off. His russet brown hair dangled loosely in his forest green eyes as they watched her with intensity.

“Are you lost?” A deep voice drew her back to the present. AM I lost? No, she was sure that she was in the right classroom, and upon spotting Katrina with a worried look on her face Shaya knew she was where she needed to be.

“Um…no, sorry,” Shaya’s cheeks burned crimson as she quietly scooted into the seat next to her friend. This is so embarrassing.

Colton watched as the girl took a seat and shared a few knowing glances with the student next to her. What a strange girl. “Now, where was I,” He turned his attention back to student body, but not before noticing the latecomer scooting lower in her seat and turning a shade redder.

“My name is Mr. Rylander, and I’ll be your English teacher for the rest of the year. Your old teacher, Mrs. Greely, has taken an early leave for reasons that will remain undisclosed.”

Shaya’s eyes grew wide. God, I was kidding when I said over her dead body! She was the only one who seemed displeased, though; the rest of the class had smiles on their faces and from the other side of the room she heard a “Yes!” as someone cheered out loud. Mrs. Greely wasn’t exactly known for her kindness and charisma.

It took everything in Colton to not roll his eyes. And these kids are almost considered adults. He’d never met the woman, so he couldn’t say what made them happy to have her gone, but their blatant excitement was annoying. “Yes, well, I wouldn’t start cheering just yet. Come next week and you might be wishing you had your old teacher back.” The class went silent once again and Colton let out a little smirk as he turned around. “Alright, now for attendance…”

“What happened?” Shaya glanced at her friend who began questioning her once the teacher was busy.

“Tell you later,” she whispered quickly, her eyes never leaving the newcomer. I’ve already made one bad first impression; if he catches me chatting I’ll become enemy number one. Now that she was seated safely behind her desk, Shaya took more time to observe Mr. Rylander. If his last statement hadn’t shown it, his straight eyes and thinly pursed mouth told her that he was going to be strict.

“Shaya Wilson?”

“Here,” She replied, meekly raising her hand before sinking back down in her seat. And now he knows who I am. Wonderful.

Once he was done taking roll call, Colton turned to lift the stacks of books hidden behind his desk, “Now, according to the notes Mr. Greely left me, you were to begin reading The Catcher in the Rye.” He ignored the various groans that filled the room as he passed out the books down the columns of desks. “You assignment tonight is to read the first two chapters and answer these questions…”

Thirty nearly unbearable minutes later, the bell signifying the end of class rang as Colton relaxed in his chair. One down, five more to go. This is going to be a long day. It wasn’t until he looked over and spotted black haired girl -Shaya, he now knew- that he remembered her tardiness. “Miss Wilson?”

Shaya looked up at the sound of her name and her eyes met his. Damn, I thought maybe he’d forgotten about my being late. After motioning to Katrina to go ahead without her, she took a deep breath and approached him. “Mr. Rylander?”

“Your tardiness this morning. What is the usual consequence?”

Shaya opened her mouth to speak, but another student she recognized as her friend Dean beat her too it. “Detention!” He shouted as he stuck his head between the two before running out of the room.

Colton gave him a short glare as he exited before turning back to Shaya. “Is that true?”

“Um, yeah, it is.”

He resisted the urge to groan aloud. Staying late on the first day was not something he had penned into his agenda. Then again, I can’t let these kids think I’m soft. “Alright then. Detention here, after school.”

“Yes, sir,” She then gave a curt nod before making her way out of the room.

As soon as she was clear of her English class, Shaya strode over to her locker and slammed her head against it. “This has been the worst morning ever,” she mumbled into the metal.

“Did he give you detention?”

Shaya turned to her friend as she began to dig out her books, “Yeah, no thanks to Dean, or you for that matter.”

“Me? What could I have possibly done?”

“You kept me up last night with your babbling, I passed out and woke up to Lucas’s ‘be ready’ call this morning.”

“At least you made an impression?”

She snorted, “Yeah, a bad one.”

“Oh, don’t worry, Shay. Tomorrow you’ll show up in class tomorrow and wow him with you knowledge.” A grin then lit up her face, “Can you believe how gorgeous he is though? It’s a shame he seems so…grumpy.”

“Yeah, sure.” Shaya hadn’t exactly been too worried about rating her new teacher on the hotness scale. “Listen, I’m going to head to class before I get another tardy. I’ll see you at lunch.” She then gave a friendly wave before heading down the hall.

******

A few hours later, Shaya was seated in the gossip-filled lunch room. Mondays were always the loudest as everyone recapped their weekend experiences. This day was especially chatty due to the new faculty addition, so much that even her own table couldn’t avoid the topic.

“So, have you guys met the new English teacher yet?” Shaya’s friend Kevin asked as he took a seat across from her.

“Shaya has,” Dean bantered as he filled his mouth with food.

She turned to glare at him as she was reminded once again of her failing. “Whatever Dean, you’re late almost every other day; he’ll remember when it’s your turn.”

The table laughed as he slumped back in his seat, the expression of a bitter loser on his face.

“Seriously though, what do you think? The guys seems a little uptight to me. He said maybe twenty words to our class after attendance.”

Katrina was the next one to speak as she perked up, “I don’t care if he speaks or not, I think he’s smoking hot.”

“Talking about me behind my back again, are we?” Lucas asked as he finally approached the table and sat next to Shaya. Everyone rolled their eyes in response.

“We’re talking about the new English teacher.”

“That guy?” Lucas snorted in annoyance, “Seems like a total tool to me.”

“Awww,” Dean leaned over to Lucas and placed his chin in his hands, “That’s because he gave your wittle Shayakins detention.”

“From what I hear,” He replied as he grabbed his friend’s neck, “That’s your fault too,”

“Alright, can we please stop talking about the fact that I have detention today?” Shaya asked as she rolled her eyes. The fact is embarrassing as it is, I don’t need to be reminded every minute.

“Yes, now can we please discuss how gorgeous he is?” Katrina asked, and the three boys curled up their noses in disgust. “Oh come on, you can at least admit he’s attractive. Shaya, back me up here.”

Shaya could feel Lucas’s stern gaze on her. If I admit anything he’ll probably go ballistic. “Sorry, Kat,” she replied, opting for a safe route, “I was too busy keeping my head down in shame.”

Katrina sighed in frustration, “Well, you’ll have a half an hour to stare at him later.” Shaya turned to glare at her, to whom she responded, “I don’t know why you’re so upset about it. I might show up late tomorrow just to have five minutes alone with him.” A dreamy glaze fell over her eyes. “I bet he has a beautiful smile.”

Lucas scoffed, “If he even knows how to smile.”

“Hi Lucas.”

Their conversation was interrupted, and Shaya turned just in time to see Maggie Allman’s hand brush over his shoulder as she walked by with a flirtatious smile on her face. Once she had passed, Shaya turned to give Lucas her ‘this-is-what-I’m-talking-about’ look, one he knew far too well.

“Seriously Lucas? Maggie Allman?” Kat was the first one to speak.

“What’s wrong with Maggie?”

“Sorry, dude, I’ve got to agree with Kat on this one,” Dean replied, drawing surprised glances from everyone. Dean was always supportive of Lucas’s after school activities. The two had been teammates on the football field that grew into a friendship between the group. Dean was even more care-free than Lucas was, and his morals were even more looser. “Everyone knows Maggie’s crazy,” He continued.

Lucas shrugged, “She’s not that bad.” He then wiggled his eyebrows, “Actually, she’s pretty good.”

“Lucas, she was sent into therapy after Michael broke up with her and she tried to run him off the road.” Katrina interjected

“She had been dating Michael for four years and he cheated on her!”

Dean raised his hands, “Well, you better make sure she knows it was a one-time thing. Don’t come crying to me when she burns your house down.”

“Whatever,” Lucas pouted, upset that no one was congratulating him on his big win. Shaya, however, loved the fact that she wasn’t the only one scolding him and hoped that maybe he would start to understand where she was coming from.

Suddenly the bell rang, drawing everyone from their own thoughts as they packed up to go to class.

“Well, Shay, it’s been nice knowing you.” Dean teased as he began to walk away, “I’ll be praying for you. Hope that weirdo doesn’t make you scrape gum!” Shaya lunged to hit him, but he quickly evaded her swipe and ran out of the room.”

“Don’t listen to him.” Lucas comforted as he put an arm around her. “The guy may be a jerk, but I think he’ll understand if you tell him it’s you first detention.”

“I hope so.” She replied quietly as she leaned into her friend. “Now come on, let’s get to your favorite class.”

“That’s not even funny. If I had a vote, Physics would be banned from school forever.”

“Yes, and you’d be living in a cave.” She replied, laughing as they walked through the hall.

Throughout the rest of the day, Shaya tried to remain calm about her impending detention with the new teacher. However, the horror that Dean had implanted into her mind refused to leave. He just seems so bad-tempered. I wouldn’t be surprised if he put me through some unspeakable torture.

Thankfully, her last three classes were filled with busy-work that kept her brain focused on taking notes, and when she wasn’t do that she was attempting to keep Lucas awake. No wonder he’s terrible at physics, he sleeps through the entire period. She thought as she turned to her slumbering friend. Well, at least he’s not harassing me when I’m trying to pay attention.

Eventually, the last bell of the day rang, and Shaya groaned as she prepared herself. I wish I could have just gone home sick and avoided this whole situation.

“Hey,” she turned to find Lucas standing at the locker next to her, “I have practice tonight, are you going to wait for me after detention?”

“No, it’s alright. Kat said she could come back and pick me up.”

He nodded before pulling her into a reassuring hug. “Don’t worry; detention’s not all that bad “Call me tonight and let me know how it goes?” She nodded, and he gave her one last smile before walking away.

After grabbing the necessities, Shaya walked through the nearly empty hallways. Soon she was standing in front of her English class, and she took a moment to brace herself. Well, here goes nothing.

“Mr. Rylander?” She announced as she opened the door and found him standing next to his desk.

Colton looked up at the sound of his name. Oh right, detention . “Miss Wilson, come in and take a seat,” He motioned to the desk in front of him as he continued collecting his papers from the last class.

Shaya sat down and nervously twisted her fingers as she waited for her instructions. I hope he doesn’t make me clean gum from underneath the desks.

Colton sighed and placed his hands in front of him. “Alright then, what do you usually do for detention?”

Shaya looked at him in confusion. “Excuse me?”

“Well, every school’s different as far as what detention entails. What do you usually do here?” Lucas watched her inquisitively. Is she always this loony?

Shaya blushed with embarrassment as she looked down, “Well, I don’t really know, I’ve never had detention before.”

It was Colton’s turn to look confused. “What?”

“Today was my first time being late. I’ve never been in detention before. Ever.”

The room was silent for a moment before Colton let out a small laugh. “I’m sorry,” he apologized immediately, “I don’t mean to be rude, it’s just…” He leaned back in his chair, “the irony that neither of us knows what we’re doing here.” No wonder she looked thrown off this morning when she came in.

Shaya smiled as she released some of the tension in her body. Maybe he isn’t so bad after all. “Great introduction, right?”

Colton smiled again, “So you have no idea what kind of detentions your old teacher gave?”

She shrugged, “I’ve heard she’s made students do homework, clap erasers, clean walls, grade work…even scrape gum off the desks.”

Colton curled his nose, “That is disgusting.” However, his internal devil was grinning. I’ll have to remember that one for later. “Well then, I guess you can just go ahead and sit quietly and do your homework.” He replied, deciding to go easy on the first-timer.

Shaya nodded as she reached into her bag. This isn’t so bad after all. I don’t know why I was so worried.

Colton waited until she was settled in before starting on his own work. Well, I guess this isn’t that bad. At least now I won’t have to do anything at night.

A short fifteen minutes later, Shaya ran into a problem; she only had one homework assignment that she could work on, and it was both easy and already halfway done. I’ve got my English assignment, but there’s no point in starting a book now.

After a few silent moments, Shaya dared to glance up at her teacher. He was still seated in front of his desk, his back hunched over as he studied whatever paper was in front of him. She watched as his eyes shifted across the page and his brow furrowed in concentration.

I guess Kat was right. He is pretty handsome. Now that she could concentrate, she looked him over. His shirt was snug against his shoulders, and she could see the contours of muscles through the material. A cluster of bangs fell into his eyes, but he ignored it as he continued to work. Screw that, he is gorgeous.

Colton was busy grading papers when he felt a set of eyes focused intently on his. He looked up, and green met blue for a moment before he swiftly looked back down. Holy Shit. The intensity of her stare was a bit frightening, and Colton wasn’t sure what to do.

Shaya immediately turned away as her cheeks turned crimson. Oh shit, did he catch me staring? Maybe he’ll just think I looked at him for a moment. God, this is so embarrassing.

Colton watched her through his eyelashes, trying to think of something to say. “Done so soon?” He finally asked in an even and nonchalant tone, his focus still placed on his papers.

Shaya’s eyes widened as she looked back in his direction. “What?”

“With your homework.”

Oh. Maybe he didn’t realize I was staring. “Yeah. It was just a physics assignment.”

This time Colton looked up and raised an eyebrow at her, “JUST physics?” Is this girl a genius or something?

“Well, it was already halfway done,” She continued, trying not to sound too cocky.

It was Colton’s turn to act smug as he leaned back in his chair. “And you’re telling me you’ve already read the first two chapters of The Catcher in the Rye AND completed a physics assignment?”

“Well, no,” She blushed. So this is what it feels like to be outsmarted. “I just don’t want to start a book then get interrupted in the middle. It makes it hard to get completely engrossed in what I’m reading.”

Colton smiled, impressed. “I guess I can agree on you with that one.” Maybe I’ve taken her for granted. She seems like she’s awfully bright. I might actually enjoy having her in my class. “Well then, I know it’s early, but you can go. It is your first offense, after all.”

“Are you sure?” Was he really going to let me go early?

“Are you saying you want to stay later? Because I can have you scrape off the gum if you’d-“

“Oh no, that’s fine, I can leave.” She replied quickly, and Colton gave a short chuckle. Yes, she’s an interesting girl, but no one’s made me laugh like this in a while.

Shaya gathered her things together before heading towards the door. She stopped short, however, and with a last minute idea turned around and smiled at him. “See you tomorrow, Mr. Rylander,”

Colton looked up to see her cheerful expression. “Yeah, tomorrow,” he replied before she walked out the door, leaving him alone to his thoughts. What have I gotten myself into?