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CHAPTER II
I know it's time to wake up, but I don't want to. I can't find the motivation to get out of bed and go to school, especially because it's the first day of summer school. I should be in a beach somewhere or exploring a foreign country. I shouldn't be confined to a classroom, taking an Art History class for crying out loud.
It's 6:10 in the morning, I need to get to school before 7. I groan as I get out of bed, grab the first pair of jeans I see, a white tank top and my red leather jacket. I put my black converse on. I go to the bathroom and stare at the reflection in the mirror. A pale girl with blonde hair and green eyes tries to lift a smile. I comb my hair but to no avail. My hair has a mind of its own. Why do I bother?
I go to the kitchen next, I need some food in my system if I am going to get through 3 hours of the same boring class. I grab a bowl and some cereal. I start to eat when my mother decides to join in.
-Hey honey, ready for another big first day?- Oh Mom, I just want to finish this month as quickly as possible.
-Yeah… why wouldn't I?- I try to smile but my mouth is full of cereal
She sighs -Text me as soon as you get to school. You know I get nervous when you drive that thing-
-Hey, my bug is completely safe!- I reply
-Just take care, ok? Don't do anything reckless- she kisses my forehead and goes upstairs. Probably to sleep a couple of hours more until it is a decent time in the morning.
"Don't do anything reckless?" Seriously? I have always been the perfect student, the perfect daughter. I just finished tenth grade and I have never smoked, never gotten drunk, never committed a felony. I am so tired of her being so worried all the freakin time. I eat the last of my cereal and grab my car keys.
-Mom I am going to school, what could possibly go wrong?- I mutter under my breath as I get in my bug.
I arrive to school at 6:45 am. I park my bug and climb the stairs until I reach the third floor. I search for the right classroom number and I find Lilly who is already there, waving at me.
-Hi there, are you ready?- She smiles, clearly excited. That girl has a non existent sense of self-preservation.
-After what I told you Ms. Tinkerbell said about her? Of course not! I can't believe I let you drag me into doing this- I say as I fold my arms hugging myself. Truth is, I am panicking.
-Chill, dude!- Lilly smiles at me, that goofy grin of hers. Before I know it I am smiling too. That is the thing with best friends, they neutralize your fears. I know I am not alone and that we are gonna get over whatever curves professor Mills throw at us. I check my phone and concentrate hard in the time 6:58. Damn, any minute now.
Lilly and I, as well the rest of the students are waiting outside. The classroom remains closed. I start to get anxious. I rub my palms over my jeans. Damn it. I have never seen that woman and she already makes me nervous. I sigh. All of a sudden there is a complete silence and I listen to the sound of heels against marble. Here she comes.
Words aren't enough to describe the feeling. As she reaches the third floor I get a good view of her. My whole body contracts. My eyes are huge I can't stare away. The gorgeous woman that is in front of me can't be professor Mills… right? She looks like she is in her mid-thirties tops. Almost my height, black hair tied back in a ponytail. Beautiful big brown eyes framed by rectangle glasses and a mouth to die for it, with full red lips. She is wearing a black blouse with long sleeves and a black knee-length pencil skirt that matches the blouse. To finish her outfit she is wearing point-toe black pumps.
I forget how to breath. She walks towards me swaying her hips, as Lilly and I are closest to the classroom door. Her steps are really graceful. What a vision! My mind is completely frozen. My pulse obviously as fast as the one of a hummingbird. As she gets closer I get a distinct scent of cinnamon and apples and I feel how my stomach twitches and starts doing somersaults.
Lilly hits me with her elbow on the ribs and says -Come on, you retard. You don't want to keep her waiting- and follows professor Mills into the classroom.
I just stand there, completely still for a moment. I… that… WHAT? For god's sake, that is the spanish woman I was so afraid of? Afraid of what?
I find a sit next to Lilly in the third row. I take out a notebook and after that my eyes immediately go back to professor Mills. She is sitting at the teacher's desk. She has a stern look, she must be struggling to open the student list.
I can't even blink, I am afraid she is going to vanish as soon as I close my eyes. Apparently Lilly is as shocked as I am, because I haven't heard her voice since we were chatting outside. Which is weird, since Lilly usually has a comment about everything and everyone. She is not helping me to calm down, quite the opposite. I can almost hear her heartbeat, fast and hard.
At last, professor Mills rises and walks towards the center of the classroom. The energy she emanates is so strong it reaches the whole room. Hot damn, is she even real? I take advantage of this to observe her more closely. She obviously has an amazing pear-shaped body. I am afraid of staring too long, but I can't help it. I swallow hard.
-Hello everyone- she says with a beautiful husky voice. The effect is immediate, everyone stops talking, all eyes are on her - My name is Regina Mills and I am going to be your teacher in this Art History course. I must tell you, I am strict. I won't touch my heart to pass any undeserving student. Work hard, do your assignments in time and place and you shall not have any trouble with me. Now, I am going to show you how you are going to be graded. Also, you may want to add to your agendas that every Thursday you have a partial exam- She walks calmly back to her desk and starts with the PowerPoint presentation.
I am lost, I can't concentrate in the freakin syllabus. I am damned, how am I going to pass this course if I physically can't pay attention? I sigh. Grab a pen and start to write in my notebook all the important dates and how much does each partial exam and class activity is worth.
-Ok, then. I am going to take attendance- as she starts calling each student by her first name I try to get myself together. What is this? I feel as if I had been struck by lightning.
-Emma?- Professor Mills lifts her chin to glance at the bunch of students looking for me. At last our eyes lock and the pull is instantaneous.
-Here, professor Mills- I say as I drown in her gorgeous brown eyes.
-No need for the formality, dear. You can call me Regina- she says. And for the first time I see her smile and how said smile lights her eyes.
-Here... Regina- I reply with a goofy grin and a trembling voice.
At last our gaze breaks and she proceeds in taking attendance to the rest of the students.
-Regina- I repeat under my breath.
Regina stands up one more time and starts to walk around the classroom. Obviously all the guys immediately follow her with hungry eyes. I roll my eyes. Men are pigs. She talks about the meaning of Art - It has to make you feel something, doesn't matter if you like it or not - I take some notes. I want to do a good job in this class, obviously.
The next topic is Paleolithic and Neolithic Art - We are going to start with the Cave of Altamira. The earliest paintings in the cave were painted around 35,600 years ago. The main paintings consist of charcoal drawings and polychrome paintings of contemporary local fauna created between 18,500 and 14,000 years ago- She returns to her desk and starts with the PowerPoint presentation. She bends over her desk to get a better look at her laptop screen, to point some detail in a chamber of the Cave of Altamira. Holy shit! I try to focus in the image of a bison but my eyes run back to her, to her body. The fact that we are in a dark classroom and that her shape is only lit by the projector is not helping me focus. I want to reach for my cellphone to look at the hour, but that is forbidden. If Regina sees me with my phone in hand, she is gonna kick me out of class. Those are the rules, her rules.
At last, Regina dismisses the class - Before you leave, you should know that at the beginning of every lesson I tend to ask questions from the last class we had. If you fail to answer me, you won't be allowed to enter the classroom for that day- She picks up her stuff with the grace of an angel and steps out of the classroom. The sound of heels fading away...
