Mr. Marshall's Method Page 2

  At this angle, I could see directly down her shirt, those breasts that I’d ogled earlier, now in full view. My breath caught in my throat. “I’m so sorry,” I said, standing up once she was safely out of harm’s way. “Are you all right?” Her fingers traced a red mark on her forehead.

  “Yeah, fine. Sorry, I shouldn’t have…”

  “No, it was completely my fault, I didn’t see you.” That was a lie. Every fiber of my being knew exactly where she was. Heat curled down my spine as she adjusted her shirt, glimpsing up at me with the most captivating eyes I’d ever seen.

  A small smile appeared on her face. “Thanks,” she said, pulling the course paper out of my hand. Deciding to stop standing there like an idiot, making even more of a scene than I already was, I continued my way around the classroom.

  Discussing exams, papers, grading, etc. took up a large part of our first class. Luckily for me—but unfortunately for Mr. Kensington—they’d only been in class a couple of weeks before he had a heart attack. That meant there was still time to mold the first part of the semester how I wanted it, yet still fit in with what was already taught.

  Complaints about the upcoming Shakespeare sections made me smirk to myself. Not many kids liked those compulsory aspects of English classes. To me, though, that was my favorite part. Reading, deciphering, then absorbing his words gave me a certain—high, if you will.

  As I said, my opinion wasn’t exactly popular. Certainly not to a bunch of seventeen-year olds. “We use many of Shakespeare’s own words today, in our everyday language. Can anyone give me an example?” I asked, knowing full well I’d look out into a sea of lowered eyes and uncomfortable glances.

  To my surprise, one hand went up. Quirking my head to the side, I asked, “Yes?” More than curious to hear this answer. My heart rate quickened—almost nervous for her.

  Holly’s sharp eyes examined me as she straightened herself in the desk. “Wild-goose chase.”

  A smile the size of London crossed my face along with a sudden burst of pride. She had beauty and brains. “Very good.” Scanning the rest of the class, it appeared just as I’d expected.

  “How about, “Eaten out of house and home”? I’m sure you’ve heard your parents say that.” The students began talking to each other.

  “Bet you hear that every day, Wyatt,” a kid with spikey, blonde hair said, kicking the desk in front of him—which likely held Wyatt. I didn’t doubt his accusation one bit. The student in question was at least a head taller than his classmates. And that was with everyone sitting down.

  “Whatever, jerk,” Wyatt said, swatting his log of an arm behind him, swooping a few papers as he went. The class laughed at their exchange.

  “Anyone else have anything to add?” I leaned back on my desk, taking my glasses off for a brief second to rub the bridge of my nose.

  “Green eyed monster. That’s in Othello.” Holly announced, not waiting for me to call on her.

  “Brown-noser,” the girl beside her said, giving her a sly smile while Holly just rolled her eyes.

  The sound of the bell surprised me for the first time today. Reluctantly, I shoved my glasses back on. “Review your notes on what Mr. Kensington gave you on “Romeo and Juliet”. We’ll continue with it tomorrow. More groans of protest followed my instructions.

  As everyone filed out with the usual roughhousing by the boys and cliquey magnetism of the girls according to their social strata, one student lagged behind, slowly filling her backpack. I wiped a sheen of sweat from my brow as I arranged my books, notes, pens and laptop into my bag, waiting until she was closer to my desk.

  Gliding up the aisle, her skirt swayed enticingly, drawing my eyes again. Snapping my vision up to her face, I nodded toward her. “I was very impressed with your answers,” I said, digging around in my pocket for what I was looking for.

  “Oh, that was easy. I love Shakespeare. It’s a bit of a hobby for me,” she said, a beautiful flush covering her skin, apparently embarrassed by her answer. That caused a desire deep inside of me to flicker to life. Every inch of my body craved her.

  “You like Shakespeare?” I asked, a bit surprised as I removed my glasses. God, I hated these things.

  “Mmm hmm, always have.” I wanted to hear her explain in that breathy voice why she liked Shakespeare and what her favorite plays were. Maybe we shared similar views or—even better—perhaps we didn’t. Damn, how I wished we could go out and talk endlessly about this. Closing my eyes, pinching the bridge of my nose, I took a deep breath.

  She’s your student. She’s your student. I repeated in my head.

  “I wanted to thank you for letting me borrow this,” I said, handing her the stain remover pen.

  Holly giggled, shaking her head. “That’s fine, I have like three more in my locker. Just keep it.” Hiking her backpack on her shoulder, she prepped to walk out.

  Everything in me wanted to stop her. “No, really. I insist.” Holding out the pen, she moved to grasp it, our hands touching during the exchange. A shock ran through my body at the sudden contact with her soft skin. Her mesmerizing eyes met mine, holding my gaze as our fingers stilled. Did she feel it, too?

  “Umm, thanks.” Was all she said before ripping it out of my hand, hurrying from the classroom. I watched her go, my stomach sinking as she left.

  3

  Holly

  “Babe, we have watched this movie twice already tonight. Now, you know I love me some Audrey Hepburn but even my eyes are starting to cross,” Alex said as he fell back on the nest of pillows he’d arranged on the floor of Ivy’s room.

  Ivy threw a stuffed giraffe at his head. “Hush, Holly likes it,” she said, squeezing me in an awkward backward hug as I laid on my stomach on her bed.

  “I know, I know, she was named after the beautiful heroine,” he said, rolling his eyes as he threw his arms out.

  “Oh, come on. I see you making eyes at George Peppard,” I said, fluttering my lashes at him.

  Alex simultaneously stood and snapped his fingers. “That man is all class. Let me tell you.”

  “They don’t make actors like that anymore.” I sighed, dragging the pillow with me as I sat up.

  “Mr. Marshall has that same debonair look about him,” Alex said, dramatically falling back down on the pillows, his hand over his face as though he were fainting.

  “Mark my words—I will have that man.” Ivy pointed her finger at Alex.

  My stomach tightened at her words. I could feel my heart pounding in my ears. The thought of Ivy having Mr. Marshall made me feel sick.

  “Get in line, sistah. Get—in—line,” Alex repeated as he reached his long arm over to grab more chips from the bowl beside him.

  Paige stood up from her place on the oversized chair, stretching and yawning. “I should go.”

  Ivy shot her eyes over, glaring at poor Paige. “Sit down, the night is young,” she said, slowly pointing her finger toward the chair.

  Sighing, Paige said, “I’ve got work to do.” Then bent down to pick up her bag.

  “Drop it, missy,” Ivy said, shaking her head. “You agreed to a movie night with us and you’re staying.”

  “We’ve watched two movies already. Besides, I need to get this novel assignment finished—”

  Ivy rolled her eyes. “The assignment that’s not due until next month?”

  I giggled as Paige’s face dropped, a look of defeat crossing it. “One more movie and then we can stop for a study break?” I suggested with a smile.

  “Fine,” Paige said, giving up with a loud exhale as she sat back down, bag in her lap.

  “I can’t believe we’re in senior year already, can you?” I asked, attempting to change the subject.

  Ivy smiled ear to ear as she rubbed the palms of her hands together. “Senior class trip, the drama production—”

  Alex cut her off. “Prom,” he screamed, jumping up clapping his hands maniacally. These two thought about prom far too often. For me, it was just another event that I didn’t
have the money for.

  Ivy gasped, covering her mouth with both hands. They gazed at each other like they were in on a secret I wasn’t privy to. “I almost forgot,” Ivy squealed, flying off the bed and dashing off to her closet.

  I shot Alex a puzzled look. In a soft voice he said, “Keep an open mind, sister friend. Promise?” His eyebrow raised in a, “You better listen or else” warning. Oh boy. Whatever conspiracy they’d dreamed up made my stomach twist and my palms sweaty.

  Before I could pump him for answers, Ivy zoomed out with her arms full of dresses. “Oopff,” she exclaimed as the dresses went sailing onto her canopied bed. “There,” she said, out of breath, fixing her ponytail. “Which one do you guys like?” Her eyes snapped to me as she tilted her head in that cute way she had about her.

  Moseying up for a closer look, I chose one immediately. “You look killer in red,” I said, grabbing the long, silky, deep colored dress. It shimmered in the light making it even more glamorous.

  Ivy shifted to the side. “I already picked mine, silly. Which one do you like?”

  My breath caught in my throat. “What do you mean?”

  “She means, pick a damn dress already and try it on.” Alex reached around me, snatching a pink dress. “Pink is definitely your color.” He draped it over my shoulder, careful with the hanger. Pushing me toward the closet, he said, “Make it snappy, we haven’t got all night.” He turned to Paige, “You, too. Get a move on.”

  “My mom’s making mine.” Paige huffed, leaning her head on her hand, elbow resting on the arm of the chair.

  “Oh, I’m sure it’ll be great,” Alex said, trying to recover even though we all knew it would probably not look great. Paige’s mom was single. Her dad was around but not a lot—he mostly spent his time taking care of his new wife and their three kids.

  They were better off than I was. That didn’t mean life wasn’t tight for them, though. Paige’s dad was often too busy to send a maintenance check. Meanwhile, her mom worked as a maid.

  “It’ll suck but mom’s intent on sewing it for me. She’s so excited, too. I don’t want to hurt her feelings.”

  A pang of jealousy stabbed through my stomach. Paige’s mom loved her so much and was involved in everything she did. It drove Paige crazy, of course. What I wouldn’t give for a mother like that.

  “Honey, don’t you worry. I’ll do your makeup so well that it won’t matter if you’re wearing a paper bag,” Alex commiserated with her. “Now you,” he said, pointing at me. “Try that on.”

  Still confused, I tried to question their motives. “But—”

  “That’s right, get that curvy butt of yours into this immediately,” Alex said with glee. One more quick nudge from his hand got me into Ivy’s closet.

  Admittedly, her closet was probably as big as our entire trailer. Not to mention nicer. Rack after rack of clothing, cubbies bursting with shoes, it was every teenage girl’s dream.

  Hanging the dress up while I removed my clothes, I couldn’t help but ogle it. The halter neckline would leave my shoulders bare. A zing of excitement ran through my body at how daring that would look.

  Two minutes later, I emerged from the closet, dramatically leaning against my hand as I struck a pose for them. “No way,” Alex whispered, one hand to his throat, the other on his hip.

  “It’s perfect on you,” Ivy screeched, rushing up to me. “You have to pick this one. I mean—try on the others but this is the one.” Her fingers straightened the long skirt.

  Paige squealed, “You look like a movie star.” She’d dumped her schoolwork to come get a closer look.

  My heart stopped as my stomach did a strange flippy thing. “Ivy, I can’t afford it. Unless I quit paying the electric bill for the next year,” I said, giving her a sweet smile.

  She breathed out a gentle sigh. “It’s on me, you know that.”

  “I couldn’t,” I stated, shaking my head. “It’s too much.”

  “You have no choice. We need you with us at prom before you go jetting off to some Ivy league school, leaving us behind.” Alex gave me a pouty face, his hands together in a praying position. “Please?”

  “It’s too expensive.”

  “Hush, Ivy’s dad makes that much in a minute I bet.”

  “More.” Ivy shrugged and they both laughed. “Whatever you don’t take I’m just donating anyway. You might as well take it.”

  She was always so generous with her clothes—giving Paige and I things she claimed were just taking up space. “Are you sure? I feel bad,” I said to Ivy, moving a step closer. She cracked a grin, pulling me in for a hug.

  “Girl, it would be a crime not to wear that. It fits you like a glove,” Alex said, retreating to his spot on the floor. Digging through the cabinet under the TV, he pulled out a DVD case. “Patrick Swayze and I’ll be waiting for you when you’re done.” He cackled, cracking open the container.

  4

  Holly

  Beep, beep, beep. I heard the familiar, annoying sound. “No way,” I whimpered, searching the covers for my phone. Finally locating it, I shut the noise off. Laying back down was all I wanted to do. Instead, bleary-eyed, I plopped my legs over the side of the bed, feeling the soft rug under my feet.

  The fun fur ran through my toes as I moved them gently. Sighing, I stood to turn on my light, glimpsing at the alarm clock on my tiny dresser. Four-thirty. Yawning, I ran a brush through my hair before twisting it up into a neat bun at the back of my head.

  Gazing into the cracked mirror, thoughts of everything I had to do today came flooding into my brain. I closed my eyes as feelings of anxiousness flooded through my body. It was like this every morning. And every morning, I allowed myself a few moments of self-pity before shaking that off and getting on with my day.

  “Three sunny side up, on white,” I yelled through the narrow window to the kitchen on my way to grab the pot of coffee.

  “Gotcha, Dolly.” Len snickered from the back. His nickname for me always made me laugh, even at six o’clock in the morning.

  “Coffee?” I asked, pouring and swaying through the breakfast rush of business people on their way to work. Why they all couldn’t just cook their own eggs at home, I didn’t understand.

  The sharp sound of ringing caught my attention. Looking up, I saw Len hitting the bell with his long handled, silver spatula. Yay. More orders to deliver.

  “Hey, toots, hit me up before you go,” a familiar voice sounded from the table to my left.

  Ahh, Mr. Over-Entitled was back again. “You bet,” I said politely, even though all I wanted to do was smack him over the head.

  “Whoa, baby, leave some room for cream and sugar, will ya?” he said, pulling the cup as I poured, causing me to spill a bit.

  “Sorry about that,” I told him, yanking out the small rag I kept in my apron. “My fault.” Resisting the urge to roll my eyes, I quickly mopped up the puddle of coffee.

  “It’s okay, beautiful. I like the view,” he said, leering at my behind, making his other three friends at the table laugh. “Bring me a muffin next time you come by.”

  Flushing a bit, I nodded, then rushed off to grab my next set of orders.

  “Can’t you stay a few more minutes?” Dave begged as I filled out the timesheet in a hurry.

  “I’ll be late for school, I’m sorry,” I said to my boss. Glancing down at my phone, I knew I’d likely be a few minutes late as it was. If the buses were running on time, I probably just missed the one I was supposed to take. “See you later,” I called on my way out.

  Raindrops hit my face as I stepped outside. Just my luck. Shoving my bag over top of my head, I ran for the bus stop. The very empty bus stop.

  “Shit, shit, shit, shit,” I shouted stamping my feet as I realized that I’d be waiting there at least another fifteen minutes in the rain. Throwing my bag down on the ground I looked up into the sky, and yelled, “Really? Like you haven’t thrown enough shit at me? Now you’re going to add rain?” I stood there letting the water r
ush over my face, milliseconds away from bursting into tears. Suddenly, a loud horn sounded, scaring the crap out of me.

  Clutching my hands to my heart I opened my eyes wide to see a dark Jeep directly in front of me. I picked up my bag as the passenger window rolled down.

  “You okay?” Mr. Marshall asked, quirking his eyebrow up.

  “Umm, not exactly.” Stunned, I stood as still as a statue, rain dripping down my eyelashes, making it difficult to see.

  “Need a ride?” he asked looking me up and down.

  “No, I’m fine thanks.”

  Mr. Marshall turned his head and looked out the front window chuckling. “I think you’re less than fine. Get in the Jeep, Holly, I’ll drive us to school.” His eyes found mine and a sexy little smile crossed his face.

  I peered down the street, hoping to see my bus driving up. No such luck. In fact, I couldn’t see much through the sheets of rain that were now falling down from the sky.

  Weighing my options, I quickly understood there were none. I would be stupid to pass up a free ride to school in this weather. Slinging my bag over my shoulder, I opened the Jeep’s door.

  The spicy smell of his cologne surrounded me as I jumped inside. I shut my eyes, inhaling deeply while I reminded myself that this man was my teacher.

  “I don’t think you’re supposed to give rides to students,” I said, attempting to dry my face off on my sleeve. Realizing that my sleeve was even wetter than my skin was, I stopped the pointless action.

  “So, I should just leave you out in the rain? That would be safer?” he said, glancing over at me quickly before watching for an opening to get back on the road. Traffic was crazy at this time of day. Add in the bad weather, and it turned into a virtual nightmare.