"Thanks for the offer, but you've already done enough."
After talking for a little bit longer, Anne and her mother both gave Mr. Bailey a hug before going out to the car, while Mr. Hartford stayed behind for a minute to speak with him. "Jeff, I can't thank you enough for what you did. I don't know how I'm ever going to repay you for this, but if you ever need anything, just let me know."
"You don't have to make such a big deal out of it. I was just doing what any babysitter would have done," replied Mr. Bailey jokingly.
"Yeah, sure. But seriously, thank you." Mr. Bailey nodded, then waved to them as they drove off.
The following day, Mr. Bailey was all anyone could talk about after seeing him on the news. Not wanting to be the center of attention, he tried to downplay it all and get his students back on task, but it became clear to him that they were already too distracted to accomplish anything.
Anne had a similar experience with her peers constantly questioning her about how scared she was and what it was like to be saved by Mr. Bailey. The questioning soon began to overwhelm her, which caused Mr. Bailey to intervene and ask them to leave her be. Despite their curiosity, the other students listened to him and backed off, at least for a short while.
At the end of the day, Mr. Bailey saw Anne waiting outside, so he walked over and asked, "Are your parents coming to pick you up?"
"Yeah, they should be here soon," she replied as she scanned for her parent’s vehicle.
"Do you know how much longer before you'll be back home?"
"From what I heard, most likely tomorrow."
"That's good."
"Yeah," she replied in a low voice.
"Something wrong?"
"I'm just a little bummed because I failed my math quiz today."
"Well, you did just have a pretty rough weekend, so I'll see if I can get you a retake."
"It's not that I wasn't ready for it, I just don't understand it," she replied in frustration.
"Have you tried talking to your teacher?"
"Yeah, but when she tries explaining it to me, I get even more confused."
Mr. Bailey thought for a moment before saying, "If you need help, I could tutor you."
"Really?" she exclaimed as she turned towards him with smile.
"Sure, how about you stop by tomorrow evening. Does seven work for you?"
"That'd be great!"
Mr. Bailey glanced over to see Anne's father pulling up. "Looks like your dad's here. Make sure you let him know you'll be coming over tomorrow." Anne nodded, then hurried off towards her father.
That night, Mr. Bailey received a phone call from Mr. Hartford asking him about being Anne's tutor and how much he would like for the job. Mr. Bailey declined any form of payment, claiming he was happy to do it free of charge. After debating the issue of payment for a while, Mr. Hartford finally conceded to Mr. Bailey’s offer.
Over the next couple of weeks, Anne's grade in math skyrocketed from a D to a B. She was now passing every assignment with ease, and she also found herself looking forward to tutoring each night.
The weekend before her first test, Mr. Bailey spent extra time helping her prepare; and by Tuesday, he was eager to see how his work had paid off. On their way home from school, Mr. Bailey asked, "Did you get your test back yet?"
"Yup," replied Anne, grinning from ear to ear.
"Well, how did you do?"
"Guess," she said playfully.
"B+."
"Nope, an A. One hundred percent."
"Anne, that's great!"
"I know, and it's all thanks to you."
"I can't take all the credit. You're the one that took the test after all."
"Yeah, but it was because of you that I did so well."
Mr. Bailey now clapped his hands together as he said, "Tell you what, to celebrate all your hard work, I'll take you out to dinner tonight, my treat."
"You don't have to do that."
"No, I insist. As long as your parents are all right with it, I'll pick you up seven."
"Okay," she replied excitedly.
"Well, looks like this is my stop,” said Mr. Bailey as he started towards his house. “I'll see you tonight."
"Hold on." Mr. Bailey now turned and immediately found himself lip-locked with Anne. The kiss only lasted a couple seconds, so before he could even react, it was over. Anne then shot him a quick smile before running home. Mr. Bailey, on the other hand, remained there for a minute, glancing around to make sure no one had been watching before going inside.
After letting Anne's parents know about their plans for the night, Mr. Bailey thought for a while about the kiss and how he was going to address it. He didn’t want to offend her, but at the same time, he knew he couldn’t say nothing. Once he had decided on a course of action, he got himself ready, then drove over to pick up Anne.
When he pulled up to Anne’s house, he waved to her parents as she climbed into his car. He then drove a few blocks away before coming to a stop and saying, "Anne, I need to talk to you about earlier."
"What do you mean?" she asked out of confusion.
"I know you didn't mean it this way, but that kiss was…inappropriate. If someone else would have seen that, we would both be in a lot of trouble."
Surprised and a little embarrassed by his response, Anne said, "I-I didn't know. I'm sorry."
"It's okay,” replied Mr. Bailey in a calm voice. “I'm not mad, and I know why you did it, but please refrain from doing that again."
Anne now glanced down as she nervously asked, "Are you going to tell my parents?"
"No, I think it would be best if we acted like this never happened." Anne nodded in agreement, then Mr. Bailey continued to say, "Now that that's taken care of, let's go get something to eat."
The car ride to the restaurant was a little tense from their conversation, but after talking with one another and joking around like usual, things returned to normal between them; and soon, the kiss was just a distant memory.
Chapter 3
Now nearing the end of the first marking period, Anne was preparing for her last test. After her tutoring session, she and Mr. Bailey spent a little time talking together before she said, "I have a favor to ask."
"What is it?" he asked.
"Well, there's a concert that I want to go to this weekend, and it's on my birthday, but I need an adult to take me."
"One of your parents can't take you?"
"My dad's going to be working, and my mom doesn't like the band, but I already have the tickets, so I was wondering if you could you take me?"
"That depends, what band?"
"Avenged Sevenfold."
"You like them?" asked Mr. Bailey with a slight amusement.
"Are you surprised?"
"A little. I thought you were going to say some rap or hip-hop artist."
"God, no! That stuff's awful," laughed Anne.
"So, how long have you been a fan?"
"Almost five years. I even learned how to play a few of their songs on the guitar. How about you, how long have you been a fan?"
"Ten years or so; and I can play every song they've ever released."
Hearing him say that caused Anne’s eyes to light up in amusement as she said, "Prove it."
Mr. Bailey left the room for a minute, then returned with his guitar and said, "Name a song and tell me to play either the opening or the solo."
One by one, Anne rattled off song names, and one by one, Mr. Bailey played every part perfectly. When he was done, Anne was left speechless. He then handed her the guitar and had her play a few of the songs she knew. After she finished playing, Anne said, "So, can you take me?"
Giving a shrug, he said, "Sure. How much for the tickets?"
"Oh, I already have them. I won them in a radio contest. I just needed someone to take me."
"Okay. When is it?"
"This Friday at nine. They're holding it downtown by the fairgrounds."
"Yeah, I don't have a problem taking you, esp
ecially if it's your birthday. How about you stop by at a quarter to eight, that way we have enough time if traffic gets bad."
"Sounds good," she replied with a giddy smile before heading home.
That Friday, Anne came over a little earlier than Mr. Bailey expected. When he opened the door, he was busy talking on the phone, so he motioned her to wait a minute. As she was waiting, Anne heard him say, "Yeah, I've got it…After the concert…Okay, I'll see you then."
Once he hung up, Anne asked, "What's going on after the concert?"
"I have a friend that's wanted my guitar for years, so I'm trading it for one of his."
"Oh, cool."
After making sure they had everything, they were out the door in a hurry to beat the traffic. When they arrived at the concert, Mr. Bailey could tell how rough the crowd was, so he told Anne to stay close to him. As they were walking around, they stopped to look at one of the merchandise stands. Anne was immediately drawn to the t-shirts, so Mr. Bailey offered to get her one. She told him he didn't need to, but he insisted by saying it would be a birthday present for her.
After getting some food and drinks, the two of them went to find a place to sit. Not wishing to be caught up in the crowd, Mr. Bailey found a spot for them further back on the grass that still allowed for them to see the stage.
As the time drew near, fans began to chant, “Sevenfold…Sevenfold…” Next came the lights, flooding the stage and sending the crowd into uproar. Large screens then lit up with graphics synonymous with the group, while fog rolled out across the stage. It was then that the music started, and the musicians took to the stage. For the first minute, fans were cheering so loudly that they overpowered the music itself. Included in this was Anne, who was jumping up and down in excitement as Mr. Bailey watched her and chuckled to himself.
As the night drew on, the crowd became increasingly unruly as more and more alcohol poured into their systems. A few fights broke out, and dozens of intoxicated fans were thrown out after attempting to climb on stage. And towards the end of the show, a wind shift caused a thick cloud of smoke, wreaking of beer and what can only be described as a wet skunky odor, to blow towards Anne and Mr. Bailey. After a couple minutes of coughing relentlessly, the wind shifted again, sending the cloud to its next set of victims. Despite all this, Anne ignored everything going on around her as she watched the band and mouthed the words to all the songs.
When the concert ended, Mr. Bailey had Anne wait in the car, so he could make the trade with his friend. A few minutes passed, then Mr. Bailey returned and opened her door to say, "Do you want to meet the band?"
“Are you kidding?” she exclaimed as she jumped out of the car and started pulling him along.
Once Anne saw the band members up close, she was speechless but had the biggest smile Mr. Bailey had ever seen. After introducing themselves and taking a picture with her, the band packed up their things and left.
When they got back to Mr. Bailey's house, Anne threw her arms around him and thanked him repeatedly. The two of them then sat down on the couch together as Anne asked, "Did you ever end up trading guitars?"
"Yeah, hold on just a second." He handed her his guitar case and had her open it. When she did, she stared in awe as he said, "Pretty cool huh."
Looking identical to the guitar she had seen on stage, Anne asked, "Is this the one they used at the concert tonight?"
"Yup, and they all signed it."
"How did you manage that?"
"I know a guy that's a friend of the band manager. He pulled a few strings for me, pun intended," he chuckled.
"This is amazing!"
Mr. Bailey now shot her a smile as he said, "I'm glad you like it. Happy birthday."
Anne’s smile now faded as she looked on in disbelief before saying, "No, I couldn't."
"I know how big of a fan you are, that's why I got it for you."
Anne glanced back down at the guitar for a moment before saying, "Are you sure? You traded your guitar after all."
"I barely get to play anymore, so you'll get more use out of it than me."
In a bout of excitement, Anne leaned over, slipped her arms around him and kissed him; and like before, Mr. Bailey was caught completely off guard. As their lips parted, Anne saw the stunned look on Mr. Bailey’s face and quickly apologized before running out. Mr. Bailey then let out a heavy sigh before glancing over at the guitar sitting next to him.
Anne and Mr. Bailey didn't see each other again until Monday, and Anne made sure to leave early to avoid walking with him. By third period, she completely ignored him by focusing on grading papers and doing homework. She then attempted to sneak out with the other students at the end of class. Unfortunately, Mr. Bailey stopped her and asked her to stay behind.
Once the last student had left, dozens of thoughts swirled around her head until she finally blurted out, "About what happened, I know what you said before and…"
"Anne, it's okay,” interjected Mr. Bailey. “I just wanted to know if you were coming over for tutoring tonight."
His cool demeanor surprised her, and she immediately calmed down to say, "Y-yeah, if that's all right with you."
With a smile, Mr. Bailey said, "I'll see you then. In the meantime, try not to worry about what happened. We can talk about it at a later point." Anne nodded, then went on with her day.
When it was time for her tutoring, Anne was uneasy about going, but after seeing the way Mr. Bailey acted at school, she convinced herself to go. Right when she got there, Mr. Bailey greeted her with a friendly smile as he invited her in. After setting out her books, she turned to him and asked, "Are we going to talk about the kiss?"
He paused for a moment, then calmly replied, "Well, I do want to talk to you about it, but I'll give you a choice. We can either talk now or after your tutoring." Anne took a moment to think it over before deciding to wait, but she soon regretted her decision when she realized how hard it was to focus with that thought weighing on her mind.
When they were finished for the night, Mr. Bailey asked, "Is there anything else you need help with or need me to explain a little better?"
"No, I think I'm good," Anne replied quietly.
"Okay, that just leaves the kiss."
Anne was still worried about what he was going to say, so she made sure to get the first word in. "Before you say anything, I just want you to know how sorry I am. I was so excited about going to the concert and meeting the band; then you gave me such an amazing gift and I…"
Before she knew what happened, she found herself lip-locked with Mr. Bailey. She was shocked at first but relaxed into the moment as a soft moan escaped from between her lips. Mr. Bailey now pulled back and shot her a smile as he said, "There, now we're even." Overcome by a flurry of emotions, Anne pulled him back in for a longer and more passionate kiss. After they parted, Mr. Bailey chuckled as he said, "Why'd you do that? I said we were even."
"I couldn't help it," she replied with a coy smile.
"Listen, I wouldn't want you getting in trouble over this, so we'll just keep this between us, okay?"
Anne nodded, then Mr. Bailey helped her pack up her books and gave her the guitar that she forgot to take with her the other night. He then walked her home in the light, mid-November rain.
Chapter 4
On her way to school the following week, Anne saw an ambulance loading someone up. Upon getting closer, she realized it was Mr. Bailey. When she ran over to see what was going on, Mr. Bailey shot her a quick smile before wincing in pain. Anne then asked, “What happened?”
“I’m a klutz, that’s what happened,” he replied as he clutched at his side. Before Anne could ask anything else, the paramedic told them they had to get going. Mr. Bailey then smirked at Anne as he said, “Do me a favor, let the principal know I'm taking a few sick days."
Anne couldn't help but smile as she said, "How you can even joke right now is beyond me."
"You get to class now. I wouldn't want you to be late."
"All right
. I'll make sure to come see you after school today." Mr. Bailey gave a nod, then the ambulance doors closed and took off with its sirens blaring.
Anne now hurried off to school and let the principal know about the accident, and the joke Mr. Bailey had made, before going to class. School then went on as usual, but Anne's mind was elsewhere. She continually stared off into space as she thought about Mr. Bailey kissing her. At some points, the daydream was so real that she could almost feel the sensation on her lips. Unable to break free of from her thoughts, she relied on her friends to catch her up.
After getting out of school, Anne made her way over to the hospital, then was taken to the room Mr. Bailey was being kept in. When she peeked her head in, he was asleep, so she went and sat beside him. She noticed his hand resting on the edge of the bed, then reached out and laid her hand on top of his. After a minute, he began to stir, then awoke to see Anne sitting beside him. They exchanged a smile with one another, then Anne asked, "How are you feeling?"
"I've been better," he replied with a sigh.
"What happened?"
"I was crossing the street and looking over a couple papers when I stepped in a small pothole and tripped. I tried catching myself, but just wound up screwing up my arm and hitting my side on the curb.”
"So how bad is it?" she asked sounding concerned.
"I have a few bruised ribs, a sprained ankle, and a fractured wrist. The doctor says I’ve got a couple months before I'll be back to my old self."
"So how long will you be in here for?"
"A couple more days. Just until the sprain's better."
"That's not too bad," she replied sounding relieved.
"No, not at all. So how were things at school today?"
"Bad. We had this awful sub, Mr. Richardson."
"Oh yeah, he's a delight," replied Mr. Bailey sarcastically. “You know he tried getting me fired a few years ago, right?”
"He tried to get you fired?"
"Oh yeah! It was because he saw me playing a game with my students instead of teaching, but I promised my students a game day if everyone passed my exam with a C or higher."
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