It wasn’t my job to raise Veronica. I was nothing more than a glorified babysitter while our mother was on her business trip, and our father had been out of the picture for a long time. As long as Veronica didn’t kill herself or burn the house down, I would consider it a success. I had a couple of weeks before my classes started, so I was glad to help out, but that was about as far as my charity would take me. I would keep Veronica’s secret about detention since I was sure my mother would somehow blame me for what she did. My mother wasn’t completely sold on my transformation. I was fairly certain that the only reason she trusted me to watch Veronica was because she didn’t have any other options. Veronica should have been old enough not to need a babysitter, but it was clear she couldn’t be trusted on her own.
“AGAIN?” I SHOOK MY head and sighed as the school secretary told me I had to come pick up my sister from detention for the second day in a row.
My sister was definitely taking after me. The first day she got in trouble for bullying another student. Her second trip to detention w
as for telling her teacher that she didn’t bother to do her homework because it was a stupid fucking assignment. She was obviously my sister. At the rate she was going, there was a good chance she would be suspended before our mother got back from her trip. I wasn’t looking forward to that conversation. I waved at the secretary as I arrived and started down the hallway.
Well, at least I’ll get to see Mr. King again.
I pulled the door open and stepped inside, immediately looking over at the desk, but it wasn’t Mr. King that was sitting there. It was an older woman I didn’t recognize. She barely looked up to acknowledge me as my sister nearly ran me over to leave the room. I closed the door and started following Veronica towards the car. I walked to the end of the main hall and saw that Mr. King’s door was still open. Veronica was almost to the door, so I just let her keep going and turned down the hallway. Mr. King was staring intently at his desk when I stepped into his room.
“Charlotte!” He lifted his head and smiled for a moment, but then his smile faded. “Don’t tell me that your sister ended up in detention again today.”
“Yes, I’m afraid so.” I shook my head and sighed. “It’s become a trend.”
“You caught me as I was just about to give up for the day.” He tossed the paper on the desk. “Some of the things these students write make your plagiarism look like Shakespeare.”
“Plagiarism?” I blinked in surprise. “I was ahead of my time. I figured out how to beat the system with creative editing.”
“You were good.” He chuckled and nodded. “I believed you were talented until I realized you were just rewriting the classics from the CliffsNotes.”
“Yet you never busted me for it.” I grinned and shrugged. “You must have liked my creativity.”
“It was good for a laugh sometimes.” He stood up and picked up his suit jacket. “Technically it didn’t break the rules, even if it was pretty unethical.”
“I did what I had to do.” I tilted my head and shrugged again. “Anyway, I thought I would say hello since this is hopefully my last trip to pick up my sister before I head back to college.”
“Oh, so you’re heading back today? Because I’m pretty sure this trend isn’t going to correct itself overnight.” He slid his arms into his suit jacket and walked towards me.
“No, it probably won’t.” I sighed and shook my head. “So, are you dating anyone—now that you’re single?”
“Dating?” He raised his eyebrows. “No, I’m not sure I’m ready for that quite yet.”
“Too bad.” I turned towards the door as he started walking past me. “I bet you’d be a big hit with the cougars.”
“Cougars?” He chuckled as we exited his classroom. “I might have to look into that.”
“Or you could just ask me out and let me pretend to think about it before I agree.” I reached out and let my fingers graze his hand.
I felt a lump rising up in my throat the instant I said the words. I had no idea where they came from. I had never been that forward with a guy before, even if I liked him. Despite my reputation in high school, I had found it difficult to actually date guys once I got to college where I didn’t have my past to fall back on. Finding out that Mr. King was divorced started to stir those dormant thoughts again and I was willing to take a risk. If he rejected me, it would be one more humiliating memory to add to my collection from Glendale High School.
“I don’t know.” Mr. King looked down at my hand as I pulled it away. “I’m pretty sure the school frowns on that sort of thing, even if you’re not a student here anymore.”
“Maybe you’ve forgotten…” I grinned and tilted my head. “I’ve never really been one to give a shit about what the school thought.”
“No.” He shook his head and smiled. “I guess you haven’t. You know what? Screw it. How about I pick you up at seven o’clock?”
The date was set. We exchanged numbers, I gave him my address, and then I headed to my car. I couldn’t believe Mr. King had actually agreed—technically I was going to have to start calling him Gavin instead of Mr. King if we were going on a date. I practically skipped once I was outside. I had fantasized about a moment like that since I was a student in his class, but I never imagined it becoming reality. He was so hot that it made my blood boil, even after not seeing him for three years.
“What the fuck took you so long?” Veronica glared at me when I opened the door to my car.
“Just chatting with a friend.” I smiled and pushed the key into the ignition.
“Flirting with Mr. King again?” She rolled her eyes. “I thought you were done with that when you graduated.”
We got back to our house and I was forced to tell Veronica that I was going on a date with Mr. King. We reached a mutual understanding—I wouldn’t tell our mother about her trips to detention if she promised to behave while I was gone for the evening. It cost me twenty dollars on top of my promise, but it was worth it. I put on a red dress, some high heels, and my favorite shade of lipstick. I was barely finished assembling myself when I heard a car in the driveway.
“He’s here!” Veronica yelled up the stairs.