The photo on the side is of Mr James :) 

Chapter 2- Mr James's POV

I walked into the art room and closed the door behind me, taking a sip from my cappuccino. As I looked up, I saw John, sitting on one of the students’ chairs, waiting for me. I smiled at him. “Hey, I didn’t know you were going to be there, I would have gotten you one of these,” I said, raising my drink.

“It’s okay,” he said, shrugging. “I just came in here to say hi… and to ask if I could spend the next lesson here.” He looked at me with puppy dog eyes, so I would say yes to him. I chuckled. I couldn’t say no to him when he gave me that look, and anyway, I didn’t mind. It was good to have a friend in class with you.

“Sure. But I have students coming here for the next lesson,” I said. “And you know me, I need to show them who’s in charge as from the first day.”

“Yeah it’s okay. I don’t know why you do that though, I don’t with my students,” John, my closest friend out of all the teachers, said to me. We met last year, when he started working at our school. He’s barely twenty-three years old, and even though I’m older, we get on well.

“But you teach English, not Art,” I said. “It’s different.”

Right at that moment, a knock came on the door, and I looked up. There was Beth, who was one of the teachers as well, and unfortunately for me, she was also my girlfriend. She smiled at me and came into the room, stopping next to me. I smiled at her and looked back down, trying not to give her attention.

“Hey hun,” she said, leaning in towards me to give me a kiss. I turned away just in time for her to kiss my cheek instead of my lips.

“Hey,” I muttered.

“What’s wrong?” she asked me, surprised and taken aback by the way I spoke to her, and surely, how I turned my face just as she was about to kiss me.

“We’re at school, Beth,” I said. “My students will be coming in for the lesson in five minutes’ time. I don’t want them to walk into the classroom on the first day while I’m making out with another teacher, thank you.”  I took another sip from my cappuccino and set the plastic cup on the table next to me, and then I turned back to Beth.

“I’m not just another teacher, Ed. I’m your girlfriend,” she said with a pout.

“So I’ve heard,” I muttered, leaning back on the desk. I turned to take a look at John, who was following our conversation with an amused look on his face. Of course, he’d like something like this. And of course, I knew he liked Beth. He always had a gleaming look in his eyes when he saw her, or whenever he spoke to her. And I could tell he was jealous that her and I were dating. And that she really liked me, while she didn’t like him at all.

“What did you say?” Beth asked me. Her light green eyes looked at me, trying to understand me, but I felt that it was as if she were looking right through me. This girl can never understand me, I thought.  We’re too different.

“Nothing, nothing. Do you have a lesson now?” I asked.

“Yeah, why?”

“Go prepare for it then, and leave me be. I need to prepare for my lesson,” I replied, quite arrogantly. I didn’t really care, I just wanted her out of the room. She annoyed me.

Beth glared at me. “I’ll see you tonight then,” she said. I looked up, I had already turned away from her while she was talking. I thought she had already left.

“What’s tonight?” I asked stupidly.

“I’m coming over to your place, remember?” she said. Noticing the questioning look on my face, she shook her head and turned away, leaving the classroom without saying goodbye. I chuckled and finished my cappuccino in silence.

“Why are you so mean to her? She’s your girlfriend!” John exclaimed.

“I never said she was. We went out on a few dates and damn, she wouldn’t leave me alone,” I replied with a grim look on my face.

“If she were my girl, I’d treat her way better than you do. She’s nice, and she’s beautiful,” John said.

 In a way, I thought, he’s right. With her long black hair which reached past her shoulders, her tanned skin and those really beautiful green eyes, Beth really was something. She was also tall, and had the perfect figure. But she just wasn’t the woman for me. I didn’t really know why, I just felt that she didn’t really suit me. Even when we just looked at each other, there wasn’t the spark I always hoped there would be. On the other hand, when I looked at that girl in the canteen… I suddenly remembered about her.

“I saw the perfect girl in the canteen today,” I blurted out.

John looked up in astonishment. “What?” he asked. He paused. “You mean a teacher, right? A new teacher, perhaps?”

I didn’t say anything for a while, then I shook my head. “No, it was a student,” I said.

John’s eyes almost popped out of his face. “Edward!” he shouted. I shushed him and he lowered your voice. “You know you can’t. You’re a teacher. It’s illegal! She’s probably underage as well!” He stopped for a moment and then continued,” You know, you used to say this to me last year when I started working here and I started liking my students. What’s happened now? It’s the other way round, and you never liked any students before. And you have a girlfriend! Beth loves you!”

I laughed, even though I knew he was right. “Chill, man,” I said. “I probably won’t see the girl again. The school has two thousand students!”

John looked relieved. “I’m glad to hear you saying that.”

“She was perfect, though. I got lost in her eyes,” I muttered, while John shook his head. He opened his mouth to say something else, but stopped as soon as he saw a few of students filing into the classroom. Damn, I thought. Time for the lesson. I smiled at my new students, and waited for a couple of minutes for the rest of the class to arrive before closing the door and introducing myself to them.

“Hi, I’m Edward James… you can call Mr James. I will be teaching you still life and portraiture in art this year, while Mr Davies and Mr Jones will be teaching you landscape and history. Umm, so, welcome to my class and I hope you enjoy this year with me. I’d like to know your names, please.” I’d barely finished speaking when the door to the art room barged open, and two students entered. I immediately recognized one of them, since I used to teach him last year as well. “Nathan,” I said. “Late as from the first day once again, I see. And now you’re teaching your old ways to your friend here.” I turned to look at the person who was standing next to him, and stopped, astonished. It was her… the girl from the canteen. Our eyes locked for the third time that day.

“Nice to see you again too, Mr James,” Nathan said sarcastically. I jerked my head away from the girl and moved to close the door which they had left open.

“Take a seat, Nathan, and don’t start,” I said, moodily. I stopped next to the girl, who was still looking at me with her perfect eyes. I smiled at her, feeling my heart almost bursting out of my chest. “Hi… I’m Mr James… what’s your name?” I said.

“I’m Ella,” she replied with a smile. I took in her image once again. She was shorter than me, and had light skin and dark brown eyes. Her hair was light brown, with orange and red highlights in it, and reached her shoulders. She had a really pretty face, and a nice figure. She really was perfect. And she was also my student.

“Welcome to my class Ella. Take a seat please, I was just explaining, uh, stuff.” I started walking away and stopped next to John, while Ella went to sit next to Nathan. What the heck, I thought. Why is she with him?

I continued asking the students what their names were, when I heard voices whispering to each other. I looked around the class to see Nathan saying something to Ella. I took a deep breath. “Nathan, unless you want to spend the rest of the lesson in the principal’s office, stop talking.”

Nathan smirked. Darn, I really hated the way that guy looked at me, thinking that he’s better than everyone else. “Oh no sir, we were just saying how the clothes you’re wearing don’t really suit a man your age,” he said with a sneer. “Or a teacher, for that matter.”

“Get out of my class,” I told him calmly. When he didn’t move an inch, I said in a loud voice, “OUT. NOW!”

Nathan stood and walked past me, bumping into me on purpose as he did so. “Go to hell,” I heard him say to me as he left the room. I ignored him, and after the door slammed, almost making me jump, I took a deep breath.

“Right,” I said. “Let’s continue with the lesson.”

I spent the rest of the lesson explaining what they had to bring with them to school, how we were going to work and what the syllabus included. The bell soon went off, signaling the end of the lesson. The students filed out one by one, and I was sure that they were still feeling a bit stung by the confrontation I had had with Nathan at the beginning of the lesson. They probably thought I was strict and arrogant. I sighed, turning to John.

“I hate that guy,” I said. John looked at me with wide eyes, and motioned with his head to the side. I looked at where he had pointed out to me and saw that, to my surprise, Ella was still in the room, looking at me.

“Umm, yes?” I asked her.

Ella moved towards me. “I just wanted to tell you that I’m sorry that I came in late, and sorry for what Nathan said,” she told me, her face getting red.

I shrugged. “It’s Nathan’s job to apologize, not yours,” I said.

“Yeah but… what he said, it wasn’t true. I just want to make that clear.” She looked up at me with fearful eyes.

I smiled at her. “Don’t worry about it Ella. Nathan’s just… Nathan. I’m used to him.”

“Umm… okay. See you next lesson then, I have a lesson now and I’m going to be late.”

I chuckled once again. “So you’ll end up being late just because of me. Nice.” I sat down at my desk. “See you on Friday, Ella.”

She smiled and left the room. I turned to John. “Did you see her?” I asked.

“Of course I saw her, she was right here,” John said.

“Well, that’s her!”

“Who’s what?” John asked, confused.

“The girl I told you about! The one I saw in the canteen!”

“She’s in your class?” John looked surprised.

I sighed. “Unfortunately for me, yes she is.”  And she’s perfect.

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