I'm starting to think I was a bit wrong about this girl – I'm never wrong – but watching her now makes me think that maybe her cute and nervous act might not be much of an act.
She is standing at a safe distance away from me, waiting for her order and she won't stop fidgeting or staring at her sneakers. Based off of our very limited interaction, she hardly ever makes eye contact, choosing to stare at her feet instead. Because I'm an asshole, I stare at her just to make her more uncomfortable and see if she will run away like she did from my office yesterday.
She's dressed simply again today in oversized grey sweatpants and a matching sweatshirt and her dark hair is in a messy bun again. Although she's dressed so casually, she has a natural soft beauty that doesn't need clothing to accentuate.
She has wide doe eyes that make her look really innocent and the dark blue eyes – which I still can't tell if they are contacts – make her look ethereal. She has a button nose and glossy pink lips and once again I wonder if I'm being played because there is no way she looks this gorgeous and doesn't know it.
Just like yesterday when I asked her to stand in class she is the subject of the gaze of a lot of people right now but she seems to be oblivious of it. Some jocks seated at a table close by are actively staring at her and I just know they are planning to approach her and for some reason it annoys me. These idiots would eat her alive if she really isn't pretending to be this nervous and clueless.
"Vanilla and white chocolate latte with caramel for…Aria", the barista announces and I wince at how diabetic that drink sounds. Is she really having that for breakfast?
I watch carefully as she walks over, takes the drink, and thanks the barista with a pretty smile on her face then turns around to leave. The jocks stare at her and one immediately stands up to follow her while the rest pat his back in encouragement.
I watch as he follows her out the door,
"Sir your order", I look up and see the barista batting her lashes at me but I don't have time for this, I take my drink and absentmindedly thank her.
The moment I step outside I see the jock standing at the side with his back to me talking to who I'm most definitely sure is Aria but can't see because she is too damn small and practically disappears behind him. I should probably leave, this is none of my fucking business but I don't want her talking to this guy so instead of walking away, I clear my throat loudly.
He turns around and stares dumbly, I look around him and sure enough Aria is standing there with her coffee in hand and staring at me with widened eyes. Why does she always have that deer caught in headlights look when she looks at me?
"Can I help you?" the idiot speaks and then I slowly drag my gaze back to him.
"No" I answer and he gives me an annoyed look and turns back to her.
"Miss Lee, don't you have to get to class?" I ask even though I don't have her class till Friday and don't even know if she has a class this morning. They both turn around to look at me and this time she gives me a puzzled look, her head tilted like she is trying to study me.
"I do", she says calmly after a few seconds.
"I'll walk you", the jock offers but she just says "No thank you Ash" in a tone that would make even 'fuck you' sound like a compliment and steps away from him.
I give him a warning look and I guess by now he must have figured out that I'm not a student because he just walks away with a disgruntled look on his face. She looks at me for a second, takes a sip from her cup of sugary poison and starts to walk away, I follow behind because it seems like we are going in the same direction. She doesn't look back or acknowledge her surroundings, she's staring at something on her phone and I roll my eyes. I place my hand on her shoulder to stop her when she is about to run into two guys, she looks up at me in surprise then I see the redness spread around her neck and flush her cheeks as she ducks her head and mumbles a 'thank you sir'. I shake my head, no wonder she bumped into me yesterday morning.
"Put the phone away and watch where you're going" I scold and she instantly pockets her phone and we keep walking. Shortly after, she walks into a lecture hall and I head to my office.
Once I'm seated in my office I relax and finish up my coffee, something about that girl puts me on edge and I don't like it. I never act impulsively and also never concern myself with student affairs or students in particular outside the classroom.
The less I think about her, the better, I conclude and start my day. I grade some papers, make some notes then leave for my eleven am lecture. The day is pretty much uneventful and is over before I know it. I pack up and go home because I don't have the luxury to ignore my business while I teach or Landon will quite literally, kill me.
The week goes by quickly and suddenly its Friday, I decided to evaluate the students in this class by giving them a surprise test today.
I walk into the class and briefly look around, most of the students avoid eye contact, and then my eyes meet a certain pair of wide eyes as I briefly look at Aria, seated at the same desk from last time. I break eye contact and drop my bag on the table behind me.
"Good morning class, today we will be having a test to assess your knowledge of this course" I start and hear a series of grumbles, curses and open discussions.
"Quiet", I say firmly, "It's not up for discussion so settle down or get out" and they all go silent.
"If you aren't interested in the test, you can always retake this class next year." I state as I take out the question papers from my bag.
I distribute the papers and return to my position in front of the class.
"Don't do anything stupid like cheating, I will catch you and you will fail this class. You have forty-five minutes, your time starts now.
I watch them carefully as they begin to attempt my assessment test, it is by no means easy but it is meant to allow me see how far they have come in understanding the course so that I know what I am working with.
My gaze flits to Aria and I observe as she just stares at the test sheet and I curl my lips in annoyance, remembering how she couldn't even answer that simple question in our previous class. I look away her and start walking around, by the time I get to her row she has started writing and is so focused, she doesn't even notice me standing beside her, or she pretends not to.
I peek into her paper and see that it's almost full but I don't look too closely. I keep going and by the time the forty-five minutes are up, almost the entire class is staring at me like if they were given the chance, they would murder me and I smile a bit, not at all fazed by their anger.
They take turns turning in their papers and grumbling nonsense I ignore until Aria comes into my view. She doesn't look remotely upset and if anything, she looks pleased, she submits her sheet, avoiding eye contact with me and practically skips away.
I find that I am a little too eager to mark her paper, maybe when I mark it and see how dumb she really is, this inconvenient fascination I feel for her will vanish.
Maybe.