Dr. Tommy Oliver was a young, sociable professor of paleontology who, in a moment of temporary insanity, thought it would be beneficial to take a job as a high school science teacher. Despite the unpredictability that was a room full of teenagers, he found the job a touch more exciting than he expected and after a while seemed to almost enjoy his new role. As he sat grading papers at Hayley's Cyberspace he was surrounded by many of the teens that attended Reefside High School and a few were in his class. He sat at a table near the back wall, directly next to a big couch which the teens usually congregated around. On this particular day, two girls who were new to his class, sat just behind him on the couch, text books in hand. He pretended not to listen while he read through the stack of essays in front of him.
Kristy Kovich and Becca Bacall were best friends who had both recently moved to Reefside from Angel Grove and as seniors they were extra restless and didn't seem to be adjusting very well. Kristy groaned in annoyance as she loudly slammed her science textbook shut, making Becca jump.
"Seriously? Paleontology? In high school?" Kristy jokingly grabbed handfuls of her hair and growled. "I don't care how hot Dr. O is, this crap is torture."
Tommy nearly choked on his pen cap, but he stifled a cough and pretended not to hear them.
Becca nodded in agreement and dropped her book onto the table in front of them. "Yes, to all of the above."
Kristy casually scooped her long brown hair up into a pony tail before slumping against the couch cushions. "Seriously, though. How is someone that gorgeous a high school teacher?"
"Who's idea was that?" Becca asked.
Kristy sipped her iced tea casually. "Okay and for the record the man really needs a disclaimer when he wears jeans. I'm just sayin'. It's like a mean joke."
Despite his best attempt to be cool Tommy choked on a laugh which he had tried unsuccessfully to suppress and knocked the stack of papers to the floor, drawing the attention of the girls on the couch. Kristy recognized him immediately and was overcome with complete horror. She grabbed her things and jumped to her feet. "Excuse me, I have to go die now." she said simply, before sprinting from the cafe. Becca hesitated awkwardly before following and Tommy was left picking up his stack of papers, unable to keep from laughing out loud. Hayley spotted him from the bar and came over to assist him, raising one eyebrow as he continued to laugh quietly to himself.
"What's with you?" she asked, arranging the papers in a neat stack.
"Who, me?" Tommy said, clearing his throat and adjusting his glasses. "Not a thing. Thanks." He took the papers from her and glanced at his watch before gathering his things. "I gotta go. I'll see you."
Hayley watched him leave in moderate confusion. She had met Tommy in college and he was her best friend, but a stranger and more complex man didn't exist and just when you thought you knew everything about him he was constantly surprising you.
Outside the cafe Kristy sat in her car with her face slammed into the steering wheel as Becca stared at her sympathetically. "Maybe he didn't hear?"
Kristy threw her hands in the air. "Of course he heard! He was three feet away!" She covered her face with her hands and shook her head. "It's bad enough that I have the hots for my teacher, but now I've run my big mouth and he knows about it. That's just...great."
"Awkward." Becca said, patting Kristy's arm.
Despite Kristy's genuine embarrassment Becca couldn't help but be moderately amused. She and Kristy had been friends for a very long time and she'd never seen her crush on someone this hard. Sure Dr. Oliver was their teacher but he was also one of the most unfairly attractive men either of them had seen in their lives and something like that was just too difficult to keep quiet about. As she glanced around the parking lot she spotted Dr. Oliver and jabbed Kristy in the shoulder. Kristy turned and watched him walk away, sighing as she pointed in his direction.
"The jeans. That's just...wow."
Becca nodded as she straightened and adjusted her backpack. "Well I think I'm going to walk home. It's nice out. See you there?"
"Yeah," Kristy almost whined. "I'm going to drive off some of this humiliation and then I'll be there." She started the red mustang and waved at her friend before pulling away. Her mind was all over the place as she drove and no matter how embarrassed she was over what happened she just couldn't stop thinking about Dr. Oliver. The obsessive nature of her personality tended to get the better of her and she was able to concoct elaborate fantasies which played out in her head like a movie as she went about her daily grind. As she drove she found herself immersed in one of those daydreams and when she saw Dr. Oliver on the side of the road she wasn't sure if he was real or not. .He was standing next to a black Jeep with smoke coming from under the hood, waving his cell phone in the air. Kristy pulled up beside the Jeep, swallowing the nervous knot that had formed in her throat and rolled the window down. He adjusted his glasses when he noticed her and approached the car.
"Um, car trouble?" she asked, her voice shaking with lingering embarrassment.
Tommy leaned down by the open passenger window. "Looks like it. Pretty sure the thermostat went out." He adjusted his glasses. Kristy stared at him silently. He stared back, a slight smirk on his lips. After several minutes of silence Kristy sighed and tore her gaze away.
"Need a ride?"
Tommy glanced at his phone, which had no service bars, and shoved it into his pants pocket.
"Yeah, that would be great." He walked the few paces back to the jeep and slammed the hood down then he reached in the front seat and grabbed his briefcase before opening the passenger door of the mustang and climbing in. He let out a shrill whistle as he glanced around the car.
"I always wanted one of these."
Kristy smiled. "You want to drive?"
Tommy practically bounced with excitement, then he cleared his throat.
"Ahem...uh, I'm good."
Kristy shrugged. "Suit yourself." she said, putting the car in drive and taking off.
Tommy sat quietly in the seat trying to keep his eyes on the road. He could sense Kristy's nervousness and it amused him to an extent, but to another extent he felt sorry for her. He knew what it was like to have inappropriate feelings for someone and it wasn't a good feeling.
"So where's a girl like you get a car like this, anyway?" He asked, adjusting his glasses.
Kristy was resisting the urge to stare at him and the giddy little girl inside her couldn't believe her painfully gorgeous teacher was in her car. The more sensible and logical big kid insider her refused to forget the awkward confession he'd accidentally been privy to barely an hour earlier, and even though she tried her hardest to act like it didn't happen she felt her cheeks burning red.
"Uh," she muttered, her mind blanking for a moment. "My dad left it to me. He restored cars."
"Oh, " Tommy said, drumming his fingers on his briefcase. "I take it he-"
"Died." Kristy interrupted. It was still a sore subject for her to discuss but the thing she hated most was people beating around the bush about it. Saying it wasn't any more painful than living it. Tommy said nothing in response, not sure what kind of response was even appropriate. Kristy had only been in his class for a few weeks but he had gotten the impression that she was carrying around a heavy load. It seemed he was right and he couldn't help feeling sympathetic.
"It's okay," she said, glancing at him for a moment. "People are afraid to talk about it, but it's life. He restored classic cars but his real passion was racing. He had an accident on the track and didn't make it. Becca and I have been friends forever so her parents took me in. It's been...three years?"
Tommy was looking at her now, smiling sadly. "That's rough." he said, running a hand through his hair.
"You seem to have adjusted well."
Kristy shrugged. "I guess. I don't know how you really adjust to that, more like learn to deal with it. I'm lucky I have people who care about me that don't have to. Not everyone can say that."
"Hey, that's right." Tommy said, turning in his seat to face her. "And that's a good way to look at it. I can relate on that level."
Kristy risked a quick glance in his direction. "What, you're an orphan too?" There was a hint of sarcasm in her question.
Tommy smiled. "Not exactly. My parents gave me up when I was a kid. It wasn't some noble motive like they wanted me to have a better life or something like that. They just didn't want to be tied down. Flat out didn't want me. So I was adopted."
"Wow," Kristy said. "I can't imagine what that's like."
Tommy shrugged. "You know, you just don't think about it after a while. Because what's important is that a family came along that wanted me and they loved me and took care of me and to be honest, I've never once in my life wondered what my life would have been like if my real parents hadn't given me up. It just doesn't matter to me."
Kristy glanced at him and smiled. It was strange to her that her teacher could relate to her in such a way but at the same time it was also some much needed empathy. And for a moment it felt less like she was talking to her teacher and more like she was talking to a friend. That was nice. As she neared an intersection Tommy instructed her make a right turn and she drove down a long back road before she neared a gray house at the edge of the forest.
"You live here?" Kristy asked, glancing nervously at the nothingness that seemed to surround them.
"Oh yeah," Tommy said, picking up his briefcase. He turned to face her when she looked back at him he smiled. "Thanks for the ride, Kristy."
She nodded. "Anytime, Dr.O." She didn't mean to smile back, it just happened. He climbed out of the car and shut the door, waving as he turned to walk away.
She sighed, noting the clinging of his jeans in all the right places, before she backed out of the driveway and headed home.