Jaxson was coming for dinner.
How did one dress for a casual dinner?
Teal looked at her clothes. There were a couple of formal dresses her parents made her own, but wearing them felt so out of place. This wasn’t a formal dinner.
Nibbling on her lip, she glared at her closet, not finding anything suitable other than a summer dress. It had thick straps and flowed all the way to her ankle.
It was still warm outside. She preferred fall and winter. Summer and spring were okay, but fall and winter were her favorite seasons. She changed into the dress and then movedtoward her mirror.
Staring at her reflection, she pulled her hair from the tight band that she’d pulled back with. She let it fall free and ran her fingers through the length a few times. This was stupid. Why was she even trying to do this? He was her teacher.
Yes, she had him for math, and he was a good teacher. Half of the population adored him. The other half kind of wanted to be him. It was such a cliché and so lame. Jaxson was a great teacher, though. Out of all of her classes, his was the one she most enjoyed.
Now, he was coming for dinner. Why? Was her mother going to attempt to make her father jealous? Just thinking about it was enough to make her cringe.
All summer, her mother hadn’t entertained Jaxson. She hadn’t had any time for her neighbor, constantly on the phone, talking to Dad.
Teal grabbed her bag, moved to her desk, and started on her homework. Her mother would soon lose interest.
Her homework was never the problem. Working her way through the math questions, she cross-referenced with the textbook anything she didn’t know. Most of her assignments had already been set, and she’d been working her way through them as well. Schoolwork wasn’t hard for her.
“Teal! Dinner is nearly here. Let me see your homework.”
She looked toward the time to see she’d been in her bedroom for nearly two hours.
Sitting up, she groaned as she stretched out her back and neck. Perched over her desk in the same position for a length of time was not what she had planned.
Just as she made it to her bedroom door, the main doorbell rang.
She cringed. Jaxson had arrived.
Crap.
Teal walked downstairs just as her mother opened the door.
“Mr. Rebel, so lovely to see you,” Bethany said.
“Thank you for the invite, Mrs. Larson.”
“Bethany, please.”
“And I insist you call me Jaxson.”
Teal watched him, and his gaze lifted.
“Ah, Jaxson, you remember my daughter, Teal.”
“Yes, I do. I teach her.”
“Yes, of course, that’s right. You are a teacher. Tell me, Jaxson, have you ever considered tutoring?”
“Mom!”
Bethany held up her hand. “You see, my daughter is going through a trying time. What with her father having decided to abandon us for his own personal pursuits, while I try to help my little girl. Teal, the books.”
She wanted to roll her eyes and came close to doing so. Instead, she handed her mother the math book, and at the same time, she wanted to choke her. She didn’t.
“I know there is so much potential there.”