The Teacher(6)

I grunt in response, and I hate to admit that I agree with her. They look good together. Kenzie’s golden-blond hair even complements Hudson’s hair color, which is also blond, almost white.

“Didn’t you, like, go out with him last year?” she presses me.

I shake my head. “No.”

It was never like that between the two of us. Hudson and I became friends in grade school because we both had dads we were ashamed of. His situation was worse though—at least on the outside. My dad is gone now, but in those days, he used to pass out drunk in our living room in a pool of his own vomit, but at least nobody at school saw it. Hudson’s dad, on the other hand, was the janitor for our elementary school. He was frequently seen pushing a mop and bucket through the hallways and yelling angry curses at kids in Polish.

The two of us bonded, and even when we got to middle school and Hudson’s dad was no longer around to be a constant spectacle, we stayed best friends. Even when we got to high school and Hudson started to be the kind of kid who turned girls’ heads and also made a name for himself on the football field, he was loyal to me. Until one day…

Anyway, I don’t want to think about it.

Ella is now licking a third french fry. I’m fascinated by this. It’s like she’s eating ketchup for lunch, and the french fries are merely a vehicle for the real meal. To be fair, I used to do that when my mom made me celery and peanut butter. But what kid wants to eat celery? French fries are french fries though!

“I freaking hate the first day of school,” Ella says. “Actually, I hate school in general. It’s so lame that we have to come here every day and be forced to learn stupid things that will never be important again.”

“I guess.” I don’t mind the learning part of school. That’s not why I didn’t want to come here today.

“Like trigonometry.” She crinkles her freckled nose. “Like, bro, when will that ever be useful in life? Seriously, it’s such a waste of our time. Who do you have for trig?”

“Mrs. Bennett.”

She groans. “She’s a total bitch. She gives, like, a ton of homework, and her tests are super hard. That’s what I heard anyway.”

Great. And math has always been my weakest subject. This year is already off to a fantastic start. “I have Mr. Bennett for English.”

That gets a giggle out of her. “Okay, that might make up for it. Dude, Mr. Bennett is hot. There is a serious hotness discrepancy between those two. Like, how did he end up marrying her?”

I don’t know what to say to that. I only vaguely know what either of those two teachers look like.

“But maybe he’s not your type.” Ella winks at me. “Maybe you would prefer somebody who looks more like Mr. Tuttle.”

My heart drops into my stomach. This is the last thing I want to talk about. “Not really.”

“Seriously.” Ella puts down the french fry she was licking and leans across the table, her eyes wide. “What was it like being with Mr. Tuttle? That sounds so gross.”

I drop my eyes, avoiding her curious gaze. “Nothing happened with Mr. Tuttle,” I mumble. “I never said it did.”

“Uh-huh.” Her voice is dripping with sarcasm. “So how come he got fired then?”

“I don’t know.”

A lump forms in my throat. I don’t want to talk about this. Instead, I focus on the container of chocolate milk. There’s a joke written on the back of the carton. What does a cloud wear under his raincoat?

“Oh, come on.” She winks at me. “You can admit it. Everyone knows it anyway.”

I lift up the carton of milk to see the answer to the riddle. Thunderwear.

“He’s so old,” she continues, her sharp voice cutting through the thrum of activity around us. “He’s got to be, like, fifty or older. He looks like Santa Claus! I can’t believe you did it with him. Seriously, what was that like?”

It hits me now. Ella doesn’t want to be my friend. She just wants to hear the gossip about me so she can tell everyone how gross it was that I hooked up with Mr. Tuttle and she got to hear all about it. I knew there was a reason that I never wanted to be friends with Ella.

“Excuse me,” I say.

I stand up from the table, grabbing my lunch tray. I’ve barely eaten any of my food, but I’m not that hungry anyway. And I’m not going to sit here while Ella pumps me for information about something that never happened.

I toss the contents of my tray into the garbage, leaving Ella at the table. She doesn’t even try to get me to stay. I hear her giggling to herself as I walk away.

On my way out of the cafeteria, I pass Kenzie’s table. She’s deep in conversation with her friends, but I realize Hudson has been watching the entire interaction. His pale blue eyes meet mine for a split second, then he looks away like he always does these days. He has officially decided we will never speak again. Maybe if that hadn’t happened, none of this crap would’ve gone down with Mr. Tuttle. Maybe I wouldn’t be the school pariah.

In any case, I storm out of the cafeteria and sit in the library at a table all by myself, waiting quietly for sixth period to begin.



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Chapter Five

EVE

MY HUSBAND IS with another woman.