by C L Walker
Meanwhile, all I could think about was abs. He had abs, and a happy trail, and, and ... I'd seen him half naked! If he only knew.
“Alright, I’ll let you off the hook since it’s the first day but don't make it a habit, you had all of lunch time to use the restroom.”
When I didn't sit because I was too busy staring at him, he rose a straight black eyebrow in question, and I felt a flush warm my cheeks.
I finally sat down and buried my head into my arms until I heard him speaking to the class again a minute later. I peered over the shoulder of the kid in front of me and watched Mr. Tanaka as he stood in front of the class and introduced himself.
He said he wanted to get to know all of us, so our first assignment was to be a short introduction letter.
When he finished, he asked if there were any questions and Jessie Miller, resident genius of the senior class, raised her hand. And bless her little heart because she asked him an especially important question, that really shouldn't have mattered at that point because he was my teacher, but I needed to know, nonetheless.
“Forgive me for asking but aren't you too young to be a teacher?” she asked shyly, and I could tell she was on my level; I had a feeling all the girls were by the looks on their faces.
Because he was a babe, and no one could look at him and deny it.
“I am twenty-three years old; I finished my masters a year ago and started working on my teaching certificate that I finished just a month ago. I was able to start college when I turned sixteen because I skipped two grades in elementary school. It also took me a year and half to get my associates instead of two years so that's why I'm a little ahead of the game for my age.” He smiled and looked around at everyone. “Although, this is my first class to myself, I assure you I am more than qualified, and you are in good hands."
Twenty-three wasn't bad, five years was nothing between adults. Which I wasn't yet but I was so close!
Jessie said something in reply, but I didn't hear her because I was too busy daydreaming about being in his ‘good hands.’ I was sort of lucky in a way, I got to stare at a hot guy without looking like a weirdo because he was my teacher, I had to pay attention to him.
“Hey, you in the back,” he said.
Who in the back?
“Hey, tardy girl.”
I snapped out of my daze when I realized he was talking to me.
“Uhm yeah?” I said.
I leaned back in my seat as I tried to look like my normal self that wasn't a ditz who drooled over boys... err men. He was a man. Yikes! Okay I needed to stop. I was almost an adult I really should have acted more mature.
“What's your name?” he asked sternly.
“Kyla,” I said, as if it were a question.
WHY WOULD I DO THAT?
He nodded his head once. “Kyla, you're supposed to be writing but you've been spacing out for five minutes. Get to work please.”
Five minutes already and I hadn't even noticed when he stopped talking.
I self-consciously ran my hand lightly across my lips to make sure I hadn't been drooling during the time that was completely lost to me.
Stay cool, you got this.
“Sorry,” I said, before I rummaged through my bag to grab paper and a pencil.
I forgot what I was supposed to be writing. I glanced at the board and saw that it said introduction letter with a list of criteria. Facts about myself...great.
I pondered writing something like, 'I've seen you half naked, let's cut the formalities,' or 'I've been watching you so please notice me senpai!' I laughed at my own stupidity and looked around the room when I realized I was being too loud, but no one was looking at me except him.
Mr. Tanaka was sitting at his desk looking at me in such a way that I knew he was worried I was going to be trouble.
So, I smiled awkwardly at him and went straight to work on my introduction, and it went something like this:
Dear scholar of the creative writing ways,
My name is Kyla Nilsen, and those closest to me call me Ky for short. I have many friends but only one who is true, it seems that others find my personality to be too abrasive. I on the other hand find most people to be weak of mind and lacking in personality so I can't be bothered by their judgements. I have but one friend that truly gets me and I love her as deeply as I love my own family, she is the sister I always wanted.
I listen to a wide range of music but mostly dub-step or anything I can dance to, I write poetry, read historical romance novels, and binge watch YouTube while consuming obscene amounts of sugar. My favorite color is purple, my favorite place is The Blue Room Café, and my favorite food is chicken nuggets (I realize it's a childish preference but don't judge my nuggies.)
I do yoga but not because I'm trying to be some trendy plebeian, I do it because I have a temper and yoga makes me less of a (insert swear word, sorry nothing else gets the point across.) I find most people boring, everyone is always having the same conversations, and doing the same thing day in and day out. Does that make me different or judgmental? I don't mean to make it sound as if I think highly of myself, I know I am no better. But no one interests me, and I can hardly stand it anymore. I'm waiting for my adventure and that's my only current plan for the future. I'm just your average girl on the outside but on the inside I'm a wild and free soul who is awaiting a great escape.
P.S. I am not trouble (I saw that look and I know it well.)
Sincerely your pupil,
Kyla Nilsen aka: Tardy girl
I finished my letter just as the bell rang and I set it on his desk before I walked out. He didn't look up and I didn't linger. Because of course he wouldn't pay any attention to me and it was best if I did the same in return.
Chapter 3
Kyla
Saturday I was in an irritable mood as soon as I woke up, as I realized things weren't going to go my way. I had a plan for the weekend that didn't go beyond the confines of my bed and it was ruined before it even truly began.
It all started when my mom woke me up at eight in the morning, which was about four hours too early, to tell me that my sister was staying over for the night.
It's not that I didn't love my sister because I did with all my heart, but I didn't like her even a bit. She had been a stereotypical mean girl in high school, and even I hadn't been an exception to her cruelty. Our sisterly bonding moments were few and far between, even though she acted like she adored me in front of other people. She was a giant waste of my time and I'd rather love her from afar as terrible as it sounded.
I was only going to have a few more hours of peace before I had to hear the annoying sound of Mya's voice.
But thankfully it was sunny and warm which gave me the perfect opportunity to take a blanket to the backyard to do yoga, and after listening to my mother yap for a half hour during breakfast I desperately needed it.
I threw my blanket on the ground and flung myself into a handstand, once in position and relatively stable, I watched a big white cloud roll lazily behind our house and out of sight. I watched it float away as I breathed in and out slowly and tried to find a quiet place.
I turned slightly when I heard a door open and shut next door and saw Mr. Tanaka carrying cardboard to his recycling bin.
He noticed me right away and stopped to stare with a boyish grin on his face.
“Nice Pajamas Nilsen,” he said, before he chuckled loudly and walked into his shed.
I somehow forgot about the possibility of him seeing me, so I hadn't bothered to change my clothes. I wasn't used to having neighbors I gave two shits about seeing the beast that I truly was.
I finally understood why my mom kept telling my dad we needed tall hedges, because privacy was crucial when you had a hot neighbor and liked to be weird in your backyard. That way I could wear my American flag onesie without being laughed at.
Yeah, I was that person, it was one thing to look nice in public, but it was free reign at home, and I enjoyed my pajamas.
&nb
sp; I slowly let myself down and opted for stretching my limbs in a sitting position and watched him as he pulled a push lawn mower out of his shed and closed it.
“Are you really going to insult me and then disturb the peace like that Mr. Tanaka?” I yelled over to him.
“I didn't insult you,” he said, as he walked over to our fence and gave me another look over before he covered his mouth with his hand and tried to hide his chuckles.
“See you're laughing at me,” I said.
I continued to stretch my legs like having a conversation with your teacher about onesies while doing yoga was an everyday occurrence. But I didn't see why we had to make it weird, we were just people. He happened to be a teacher and I happened to be his student, but it was temporary much like everything else in life.
He finally stopped laughing so in turn I stopped glaring and looked at him curiously instead. I didn't know what to say even though I felt the need to fill the empty space.
“I was only laughing because this scene seems a little contrary to your personality, but then again, I don't know you well do I,” he said.
“Not in the slightest.” I shrugged. “Well expect the unexpected and all that.”
He nodded his head in agreement. “I will from now on.” He opened his mouth as if to say something else but then clearly thought better of it.
I bit my lip as I frantically searched my mind for something to say as I didn't want the conversation to end.
“Is it weird?” I asked.
“Is what weird? You're going to have to be more specific, that sounds like the start to a bad pick-up line.”
I smirked as I realized he was right.
“Is it weird being so close to your students in age?” I asked.
He nodded his head before he looked away and considered my question. “Some kids make the distance feel smaller while others make the distance seem even greater. A lot of maturing happens as you come out of your teens and make your way into the twenties.” He paused as he looked back down at me and quickly did a sweep from my head to my toes with a sly smirk. “You'll see soon enough.”
He was still laughing at my pajamas, but if he thought I'd stop wearing them when I was older he was wrong.
“Are you saying I'm not mature?” I asked, and he nodded his head with no hesitation. “Well, your frontal lobe isn't fully developed either, so science says you're also not all there yet either bud.”
Which meant I was even further from my full brain power but hey, if I was going down you can bet your bottom I was taking someone with me and my perv side was screaming that it had to be him.
“Okay miss smarty pants what is the frontal lobe responsible for controlling anyways?” He put his hands on his hips and bobbed his head in a sassy manner.
It made me giggle before I slapped my hand across my mouth to contain it.
Then I cleared my throat and straightened my back as I stated with confidence, “Cognitive skills such as problem solving, memory, and judgement.”
Smells like victory.
His face promptly fell. “Psychology class or search engine?”
“Psychology class,” I said with a shit eating grin on my face, as I hoped he didn't ask anything further because I only recalled the basics.
He smiled in return but then a few seconds later his mouth eased into a line that wasn't quite a frown but didn't look happy either.
“Well, uh, I'll wait an hour to mow my lawn so you can keep your peace. Later kid,” he said, calling our conversation to a sudden halt.
I wasn't a kid anymore, pajamas be damned.
“Thanks, old man,” I retorted.
Thanks to the muscle T-shirt he was wearing I got to watch his muscles flex as he turned back around and gripped the fence once more. Everything about him screamed virility, calling him an old man was way too big of a stretch and we both knew it.
“Ouch, that one hurt.” He put his hand over his chest, and I noticed for the first time how strong looking and large his hands were.
His veins were prominent which I always found oddly attractive. His long fingers had two black rings, one around his pinky finger and the other around his pointer finger, it was a soft touch to the otherwise masculine appeal of his limbs.
Those hands though, they were the kind of hands you wanted on your body.
“First, I'm underdeveloped and now I'm old!” he said with a look of feigned shock. “That's one extreme to the next so you clearly can't be reasoned with!”
“It's only fair. If I'm a kid, then by your own measure you are certainly an old man,” I said, with a sweet smile.
His eyes narrowed as he glanced down at my onesie and then suddenly, he started laughing again before he turned away as he shook his head.
“Whatever you say,” he said, before he retreated inside his house where my words couldn't reach him.
He didn't see me as a woman, but then again what was I expecting?
But it still felt unfair. I realized I wasn't going to turn into some experienced woman overnight when I turned eighteen, but I was hardly a child.
Five or six years wasn't that much in the grand scheme of things so who was he trying to fool? He was still young himself!
“Kyla!” My mom yelled from the kitchen window.
I sighed as I pretended not to hear her for as long as I could. What was it with moms and refusing to walk their butts to you rather than bellowing out your name repeatedly for the whole neighborhood to hear?
“Kyla Jane!” she yelled.
She knew I already heard her, but she would keep yelling until I acknowledged her.
“What do you want from me woman!” I yelled.
She could obviously tell I was busy.
“Kyla come here!”
Oh, for the love of God.
She drove me nuts.
I grabbed my blanket and ran inside giving up on finding my chill but with plans to make them all suffer for it.
I walked slowly to the kitchen just to irritate her and bellowed, “Yes mother.”
She ignored me and when I finally made it to her side, she knew I was annoyed but she didn't care, if anything she found it amusing.
“I need some help cleaning up because it's not just going to be your sister now. I also invited our neighbor to dinner.”
“Who is it this time?” I asked, as I felt annoyed that I would have to be on my best behavior if someone else was coming over.
“Sora sweetie, he's such a nice young man I thought we should all get better acquainted.”
I normally didn't mind that my mom was Susie homemaker and queen of the neighborhood. She was that nosey lady who knew everything about everybody, but she was also there for anyone who needed her. She invited people over all the time for BBQs, football games, tea, and gossip with the ladies. You name it. But with Mr. Tanaka things would be different, he was twenty-three years old, what the hell were they all going to talk about?
“Really mom that's going to be so awkward, he is my teacher if you recall?” I sighed as I sat down at the bar and opened a bag of spicy chips. “Mya's going to be here too...wait a second... Mom! No!”
She pulled her short light brown hair into a hair tie at the nape of her neck and adopted a look of innocence as she started moving things around on the counter, ignoring me entirely.
“Maaa, Mya can find a boyfriend on her own!” I protested.
“Honey she's been broken hearted ever since Derek broke up with her, have some compassion.”
I rolled my eyes when she looked away and headed for the sink to do dishes. I didn't want to hear anything about Derek. He was a nice guy and Mya walked all over him; I was happy for him. He deserved better and I was beyond being biased when it came to those that I loved, so I could see clearly that Mya had caused her own heartache.
“He broke up with her because she's a bitch, so she's not getting any compassion from me,” I said.
My mom whipped around so fast she made me flinch, she had a heart of gold but whe
n she was angry... she was a force to be reckoned with. “You watch your mouth Kyla; I realize your sister is no saint but the right man to set her straight will be just the thing. So, please help me clean up the house and try to behave like the adult you almost are.”
She put an emphasis on ‘almost’ because even though it was only two weeks out, I was still a child to her, and I had a feeling I would be for a long time to come.
I stood up and grabbed the broom without a word and she continued doing dishes in silence. After I swept our hardwood floors in the kitchen and dining room, my irritation passed so I went up behind her and hugged her tight.
I couldn't blame her for wanting the best for her children, and I knew how much she had gone through with Mya. The way she had turned out broke my mom’s heart and I needed to make sure I never added to its cracks. I wanted to make her proud, I wanted her to feel at ease at least where I was concerned.
“Sorry mama,” I said.
“It's okay honey.”
I left her to go do laundry and vacuum the living room around my father who was lying on the couch doing the man thing and letting the women do all the work while he watched tv.
My dad was a chill guy, but he was the laziest man I had ever met, and he was also very passive. My mom wore the pants in the relationship, but they both seemed to like it that way.
An hour later Mya arrived and the second she walked through the door my mood sunk even lower. I couldn't help but roll my eyes at the sight of her before she even opened her mouth and gave me a reason to. Her face was reason enough.
She was wearing pink skinny jeans with a white blouse; her hair was light brown like my mom's but curly because she permed it.
She was a lot different than me style wise, everything about her was pastel and perfect. She was annoying but she was also pretty and that alone kept her surrounded by people vying for her attention, which only fed into her vanity.
“Hey sis, cute pajamas,” she said, as she walked past me, and I shut the door behind her.
She looked me up and down and then she forced an annoying giggle out of the hole in her face.