I own nothing but my imagination.

As the chalk scraped against the chalkboard I watched in awe. The woman could not possibly be my teacher. I may have skipped this class all year, but I did come to a few at the beginning, and I for sure would have remembered her. Her golden blonde hair had some curls in it and reached down to the center of her back. She was wearing a white long-sleeved button down blouse with the sleeve rolled up and a knee length tight black skirt that still showed off enough of her perfect tanned legs. Her black high heels gave her a little height, but she couldn't be more than 5'4".

As you could imagine I was staring at her with my mouth slightly open. She turned and made eye contact with me and raised her right eyebrow slightly. Probably curious as to why I was gawking at her. But I didn't turn away. I couldn't. She shook her head slightly and then addressed the class.

"Okay so last month we studied Emily Dickinson, the next 4 weeks we will be studying the dark and mysterious, Edgar Allan Poe. It is my belief that Poe is an extremely important part of American Literature. Not only is he known for one of the most famous poems in American History, he was also known for his tales of mystery and suspense. Poe always thought that Poetry was a fashion and that it must be fashioned, shaped and polished like an organic substance. Poetry excited and tantalized Poe. The tales he wrote were the first of their kind and to this day writers have mentioned Poe's work as their inspiration. He brought us the art of Poetry a shaping imagination and a passionate love of beauty."

While she spoke you could see the passion in her eyes and hear it in her words. She almost made me want to learn more about Poe. Almost. Really I just want to learn more about her.

"So the next few days you all are going to study Poe on your own and by the end of the week I want a short paper on what you have found. I want you to try to get a concept of Poe before we start to read his work. Alright so everyone grab your belongings we are going to head to the library. We have a great collection of biographies and Poe's works along with my own collection and of course we have the internet. You will work in group of two's for now so pick a partner and let's go."

With that we all got up and headed out the door. Madison immediately turned to me.

"So I am surprised to see you. What made you come to class today?" Madi asked me with her eyebrows raised in question.

"Uh… the principle. He found me out in the quad and walked me directly to class."

"Well I am glad. It's one of our only classes together and you never come," she pouted.

"Well I will definitely be coming to class every day now." I followed that with a wiggle of the eyebrows.

"Hmmm. That wouldn't have anything to do with our gorgeous teacher would it?"

"Maybe. By the way, where did this gorgeous teacher come from? She wasn't here at the beginning of the year. I am sure I would have remembered her."

Madi laughed. "She had to take over for Mr. Connors. His wife got really sick so he had to take some time off. She's been here since the beginning of October, I think."

"Damn, how has she been here for 2 months and I didn't notice?"

"Uh, because you always skip like the first couple classes and she is only here til 4th period. She teaches part time at UCLA."

Wow! Impressive.

We entered the library and were directed to the back corner. There was a table full of books all about Poe.

"Alright, everyone. One by one I want you to go pick out two books for your table, one biography and one of his works," she said quietly.

Madi grabbed two books from the table and when she got back I remember what I wanted to tell her.

"Madi, what have I told you about that hideous skirt? Really, you need to burn it." She chuckled at me.

"Seriously, Ash. When are you going to realize this 'hideous skirt' is dress code? Not all of us can pay doctors to write notes for us."

Pfft!

"What? You don't believe that I am allergic to polyester?"

I heard a snicker and looked over to see the gorgeous teacher trying to suppress a smile. She didn't look up at us, she was writing something on a notepad.

"Ash, these skirts are only like 10 percent polyester. You just like to be different."

I scrunched my nose up. "If by different you mean stylish, you're right"

"Miss Davies, you do know this is a library and that you are supposed to be reading?" The gorgeous teacher said still looking down and writing.

I tilted my head at her. "I'm sorry, Teach. You can call me Ashley, by the way."

With that she finally looked up at me with a smug look on her face. "Miss Davies... more reading, less talking. You can call me, Mrs. Dennison... by the way."