I sighed as I looked at myself in the mirror. 22 years old. The same long dark chocolate brown hair, same light green eyes, same petite short figure. Some things, however, had changed. My usual cheerful demeanor had taken a downward spiral into loneliness. On a whim during senior year, I decided to apply to Brown University. Apparently getting an almost perfect score on your SAT really ups your chances at getting into an Ivy League University. That and the fact that I maintained a 4.0 GPA my entire high school career. My parents were ecstatic that I got in to the prestigious school. They even framed my acceptance letter. Now living in Rhode Island in a one bedroom apartment by myself, my life had become a meaningless routine. Wake up, Shower, Coffee, College, Home, More coffee, Dinner, Sleep. Repeat.
I sat down on my brown cushy couch, suddenly feeling nostalgic, thinking of my high school years. Remembering all of the wonderful times I shared with Hanna, Spencer and Emily. Even with all of our stalker drama, we still managed to crack a smile every now and then. Thankfully during our senior year, A finally gave it a rest. We will never know why but one day our stalker just up and stopped messing with us. We were all relieved, and made a pact to never tell anyone what had happened.
Ezra was so happy that I was accepted into Brown. We planned out everything. It was going to be perfect. But, you know the old saying, all good things must come to an end? Yeah well, apparently that saying is true. Be prepared to be transported back into my senior year, I hope you're ready.
Brrrrrrriiing. The bell rung as I walked into Ezra's classroom. The classroom was filled with less than eager juniors, mostly who were about to fall asleep. I shook my head, feeling sorry for my former English teacher. I walked over to Ezra's desk and placed my hand on it.
''Hi.'' I whispered as he looked up at me.
As cliché as it sounds, Ezra still took my breath away every time he looked at me with his crooked gaze. This morning his hair was a bit disheveled, a few strands straying outwardly from his scalp, his eyes were sleepy, marked with light rims under each one. I felt the need to apologize, mostly because I was the reason that he had been staying up so late. From watching old movies, to making out, to eating take-out, to more making out, we usually both stayed up pretty late. His brown vest fit him snugly as usual as I noticed that the tie he was wearing was the one I purchased him when I asked him out on our first official date.
''Good morning Miss Montgomery.'' he responded as he nervously looked out at his students, making sure that no one was watching.
''Nice tie.'' I whispered flirtatiously as I winked.
He cleared his throat as he hid a smile. ''Thank you. Now, what can I do for you?'' he asked curiously.
I sat down my backpack as I quickly tried to remove my binder from it. I suddenly heard whispering, and as I nonchalantly turned around to face the junior class, I saw three girls in the front row snickering at me. I quickly looked down at my outfit, suddenly self-conscious. Nothing was abnormal; my short black skirt wasn't showing my underwear, my cream colored tank top wasn't out of place, and my long turquoise feather earrings weren't caught in my hair. What was their problem? I suddenly had an epiphany. They were jealous. I stifled a laugh. They were jealous that I was talking to Ezra. I shook my head and retrieved the papers that I needed to give to him.
''This is my teacher recommendation application letter for Hollis. I figured I'd let you have it this morning so you can work on it during school. I hope I'm not bothering you, I was just trying to lighten your workload at home.''
''Well thank you, Aria. And of course you're not bothering me, this is very thoughtful of you to give this to me at the beginning of the day so I can have more time for personal things at home at night.'' I raised my eyebrows at his last comment, impressed that he had been so adventurous with his words in front of his class.
''I'll make sure and fill this out as soon as possible. Thanks for stopping by.'' he said as he looked up at me.
I nodded and slightly waved as I exited the familiar classroom and walked to my first period study hall. As I approached the library, I began to look back on the past year and a half with Ezra. Junior year flew by, and summer went just as quickly and just like that, I wasn't Ezra's student anymore. Although that didn't make our situation much easier, it lightened our spirit's a little bit, and Ezra got much more curious with his hands when we kissed. I felt blush rise upon my cheeks as I looked around the library, clearing my throat. Sure, things were never easy for us. Unfortunately we weren't one of those couples who never had any problems, and being cooped up in his apartment all of the time really didn't help things. Not to say that I didn't enjoy our Saturday night cuddle fests and movie nights, it just would have been nice once in a while to grab a cup of coffee together without constant fear of being seen by someone we know. Aside from minor things, Ezra and I fell into the same routine. School, dinner at his house - some days take-out, other day's I would cook, watch an old movie, occasionally I would sleep over, and repeat. What seemed boring to most people was fun to Ezra and I.
Since I was a senior now, we saw each other significantly less at school, therefore we cherished the time that we spent together even more than usual. I looked forward all day to spending time with Ezra. He had quickly become not only my boyfriend but also my best friend.
No one had ever suspected anything of Ezra and I. At school, our relationship was strictly teacher student; and even now, we are simply just former teacher and student. And still today, Hanna Spencer and Emily are the only ones who know about my scandalous relationship. They're always poking and prodding, trying to get something out of me, constantly curious as to what my relationship is like with a teacher. However, I've never been the type of girl to kiss and tell, so I mostly keep my relationship to myself.
The only other person who knows about the relationship is the infamous A, who I haven't heard from in a while. I'm not complaining, that's for sure, but it is very odd how whoever our stalker was just one day stopped threatening us. Whoever was behind the anonymous face that almost ruined my relationship with Ezra, my parents, and my best friend hasn't bothered me for almost three months now.
I started thinking about my relationship with my parents when I suddenly heard a loud voice yell across the library. I looked up, disevolved from my thoughts to see Hanna motion me over to a table where she was sitting with Spencer and Emily. I smiled, rolled my eyes, grabbed my things and walked over to them.
Authors Note : Okay .. So hello! I haven't written in soo long and it was so nice to get back into the flow of things with this new story. I am also the author of the story Moments Later. This story is going to be a little different, because I'm going to try to switch back and forth between Aria's senior year in Rosewood and her current life at Brown University. Or at least, that's what I'm hoping. Who knows what will happen folks? Anywho … please read and review! It would mean a lot! XOXO - Haylie