Signs of Attraction by Laura Brown

Author:Laura Brown [Brown, Laura]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2016-06-13T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Three

Carli

CHRISTMAS WAS LOUD and overwhelming. We exchanged gifts and ate. Dad yelled. A lot. We were too loud. The boys were too rambunctious. Dad’s gift from Mom sucked.

We all got quiet at that outburst. Mom just got up, grabbed the gift—a very nice sweater, the kind he wore all the time—and threw it in the trash.

Merry Christmas?

Needless to say, no one wanted me to stay at home. So when I mentioned I had a friend who lived closer to the middle school I would be student teaching at, they were fine with cutting my winter break short. And no, I didn’t mention I was staying with Reed. Heck, they still didn’t know I had a boyfriend. Mom could go back to pretending the characters on TV were her real family, and Dad wouldn’t be bothered by the reminder of his imperfect daughter.

Therefore, at 2:00 p.m. on January 2, I pulled up to Reed’s home and let out a breath of relief. My car was now in my possession for the semester since I would be commuting to a classroom full time.

God. Could I handle this? Could I really handle this?

I had always dreamed of being a teacher. But dream + reality didn’t always yield a successful outcome. The closer reality came, the more I freaked. Bottom line, I had no clue if I could actually do this. My heart screamed “yes, teaching will be great!” Meanwhile my brain made a word problem out of coconuts and bananas and had me on hold to loud elevator music while she worked out a problem that made absolutely no sense.

All those coconuts and bananas went flying when a knock on my window had me jumping in my seat, still restrained by the seat belt in a this-could-have-been-a-crash movement. It was no crash, just Reed standing outside my door. “You OK?”

I nodded, shook the scattered fruit away, and got out of the car. I expected Reed to go for my lips; instead he went for my head, lips to the spot that always hurt the most.

“How know?” I signed.

“Your eyes.”

I stared at him. Logically, it made no sense. Emotionally, it made perfect sense. How could he see what others couldn’t?

He wrapped me in his arms, and I relaxed into him. Then a silly grin broke out on my face. For the next three weeks I got to live with him. I pulled back and kissed him while doing a little happy dance.

This might be the best break ever.

MY SEVENTH-GRADE CLASSROOM was on the small side, with twenty-five desks set up into five rows. Whiteboard, wall of windows, and a large imposing teacher’s desk completed the room.

I wasn’t convinced I wouldn’t throw up.

“Good morning, Carli.”

I turned around and found Heidi, my middle school cooperating teacher. It was her algebra class I was taking over.

“Good morning,” I managed without my voice breaking. Good start.

“Are you nervous?”

I let out a shaky laugh and held up an unsteady hand. “A bit.”

She gave me a reassuring smile. “It’s going to be okay.

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