The first time I saw Jess Mariano, was the third day of orientation. Orientation days usually happen at the beginning of the school year and this is when the teachers have to introduce themselves and the course they are teaching.

It was the last orientation day and I was bored out of my mind waiting for the last teacher to come in and get the introduction over with already. Just as I was about to put my head down to take a nap, he walked in the classroom.

"Good morning class!"

He turned around and started writing his name on the board. From the way he dressed, you could tell that he lived alone. His long-sleeved green polo was all wrinkled up and it looked like it hadn't been ironed since the day it was purchased.

Jess D. Mariano

After scribbling his name on the board, he turned around with a bright smile and greeted us again.

"So, once again, good morning. Excuse my tardiness, I got lost finding my way here from another classroom. Uhm, anyway, my name is Jess and I'll be your second year History teacher."

He seemed to catch the attention of the class. Well, the girls anyway. What caught my attention were his eyes. They were big and kind of drooped down to the side. But other than that, I didn't really think much of him.

"So this year, we will be discussing the ancient civilizations all the way up to the modern age. This course is only 10 months so the pacing will be a little fast. We have a lot to cover and not that much time. But please, if you find it to be a little too fast, do not hesitate to ask any questions. If you don't understand a certain topic, tell me and I'll be glad to re-teach it. If after every session you're still having a difficult time, I schedule remedial classes and you can feel free to sit in. But uhm, other than that, are there any questions? About the subject? About the school year? Anything? If you want, you can ask personal questions."

After saying that, several girls raised their hands.

"Yes, uhm what's your name miss?" He said with a smile.

"My name's Louise"

"Louise. Okay, what's your question?"

"How old are you?"

"I'm 24 years old. Any other question?"

He pointed to Madeline and I honestly thought that those two were out to attack him like their prey.

"Yes miss."

"I'm Madeline and I was wondering if you could give like a brief background of you know…your life." She said with a huge grin and batting eyes,

"Oh, uh sure. Why not? After all we will be spending almost a year with each other. My name is Jess and this is my first time teaching at a private school so I'm not really used to the formality. But I do understand that the school requires that you call me Sir Jess. So yeah, you can call me Sir Jess, Sir Mariano, Sir Danes if you must. Danes is my middle name, that's what the D stands for. Uhm, what else? Oh yeah, I finished college a few years ago and I've been teaching since I was 20. But I'm currently taking up my masters…so I too am a student. I was originally a nursing student 'til I shifted to education and uh…that's it I guess."

In the corner of my eye, I could see Madeline and Louise whispering to each other. And I distinctly heard something along the lines of "…8 years apart not bad."

"So, I would like to get to know you guys as well, but we only have 2 more minutes 'til you're dismissed so we'll just catch up next meeting. In the meantime, you guys can go already. You're dismissed."

As my classmates stood up and walked out I noticed a whole bunch of them looking at him like a piece of meat. But I personally didn't really see him in that light. I almost completely ignored him on my way out and thought about how much burden would fall on me when all the girls in the class would ask for my homework just so they could get ahead and impress him. I rolled my eyes and I remember thinking that I honestly had no idea what the hell people saw in him. He wasn't that impressive.

Over the next few months, I would discover how wrong I was about him.