See Me After Class(121)

“She’s crying?” I ask, my heart nearly wrenching out of my chest.

“What else would she be doing? Yes, she’s angry with you, Arlo, but she also loves you, still does, and that love was shattered. You broke her trust. You made her believe she’s not good enough to be an educator. Could you imagine, if the person you’re head over heels in love with blindsides you and tells you all the hard work you’ve been putting into your job isn’t good enough? Pretty sure you’d be crushed, too. Honestly, I don’t think she’s mad about what was said, but more angry about who said it.”

“But . . . we’ve clashed over teaching styles from the very beginning.”

“It doesn’t matter. You still hurt her.”

“I know.” Aggravated, I drag my hands over my face. “What the fuck do I do?”

“Well, sitting around doing nothing is not the way to win her heart back.”

“Trying to talk to her isn’t working either.”

“Ugh, you’re so dumb.” She rolls her eyes. “For the level of education you have on your résumé, you’d swear there would be more than a half-brain in your head.” Looking me in the eyes, in all seriousness, she says, “You read those Scottish books, right?”

“What do they have to do with this?”

“It’s called a grand gesture, Arlo. You can’t win a girl’s heart without a grand gesture. And if any moment calls for one, this is it.”

“So you think I should ride into school on a white steed and proclaim my undying love?” I roll my eyes.

“With that kind of crappy attitude, you’re never going to get her back.”

“What happened to just talking? Talking it out? Having a simple conversation?”

Coraline’s lips flatten as she stares at me. Nostrils flaring. Why do I feel like she’s about to explode?

“Arlo, do you remember that conversation I had with you a while back? Out on the lounger.”

“Yes.”

“Do you remember how we spoke about intimacy? And it being harder for us?”

“Yes . . .”

“Intimacy isn’t just holding someone’s hand and kissing them in public. Intimacy is opening your heart to the one you love—opening it up—and exposing it to get beaten, battered, and then loved all over again. You need to open your mind to understand how Greer is feeling. Talking to her isn’t going to work. Reason and logic won’t work in this moment when her heart is broken. This requires an intimate act, an act of courage on your end. You need to show her not only do you love her, but you honor her teaching as well.”

“I do. I’ve seen her work. I’ve heard the way the students talk about her. And I said that, but she focuses on the negative.”

“Because the negative almost made her lose everything. And the negative—well, it made you lose the most important person in your life.” She pats my leg. “So, my suggestion to you is figure out a way you can make it up to her. Show her you value her as a colleague and the love of your life.”

“How do you suppose—” I pause, a lightbulb turning on in my head. I sit up on the couch and say, “Oh shit, I think I have an idea.”

“Boop,” Coraline says, pressing her finger to my thigh. “You’re welcome. I’ll take another sparkly thing as payment.”

“If this works, I’ll give you anything you want.”

“I hope you realize you just made quite the promise.”





“Thank you for making some time for me,” I say to Nyema.

“No need to thank me. I’ve been wanting to speak with you.”

I shift in my chair, trying to get comfortable. “Let me guess, you want to talk to me about Miss Gibson?”

“Yes.” She folds her hands in front of her. “I heard you two have had a falling out.”

“I wasn’t aware you knew we were together in the first place.”

“There’s very little I don’t know about in my school, including faulty air conditioners.” She lifts her brow, and—Jesus Christ, she knows about that? Does she know who the underwear actually belongs to? Things I’ll never tell Greer . . . that’s if she ever decides to talk to me again.

Clearing my throat, I look away and say, “Uh, yeah . . . um . . .” Jesus.

“Now, about Miss Gibson,” Nyema says, thankfully helping me out.

“Yes, sorry.” I clear my throat one more time. “I was hoping I could chat with you about her evaluation. I know that’s confidential, but could I at least be reminded of what I said in her evaluation? I think it’d be helpful in understanding her feelings.”

“Are you planning to win her heart back?”

“Yes.”

“It’s been over a week.”

“My sister made me quite aware of that the other day.”

“It’s going to be more difficult since you’ve waited so long.” She folds her arms over her chest.

“Trust me, I’ve been trying but realized I’m going to have to make a grand gesture to gather her attention.”

“Yes, I believe you are.” Nyema smirks and then she studies me. “You know, Arlo, I’ve known you for a few years now and, I’ll admit, I never thought you had room in your heart for more than literature and the love for teaching. But then Greer came along and I saw the way she challenged you, the way you look at her, study her. She fascinated you. So, when you turned in your evaluation, I took it with a grain of salt. I read between the lines. She scares you.”